Department for Business and Trade

Deep Sea Mining

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department plans to take to consult relevant stakeholders on deep-sea mining polices.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Department for Business and Trade indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Mining: Seas and Oceans

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make it her policy to introduce a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep-sea mining until a specific set of environmental, social and governance conditions are in place.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Department for Business and Trade indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Electric Vehicles: Batteries

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the report by the Critical Minerals Association entitled Unlocking security of supply, published in March 2023, whether she plans to take steps to increase the rate of recycling for end-of-life EV batteries.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: Department for Business and Trade indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Easter

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will take steps to bring into force the provisions of the Easter Act 1928 to fix the date of Easter from 2024 onwards.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Easter Act 1928, which remains on the Statute Book, would set the date for Easter to fall on the Sunday that follows the second Saturday in April. The Act has not been brought into force. To do so would require an Order in Council, with the approval of both Houses of Parliament. If the Christian churches agreed on moving to a fixed date for Easter then the Government would consider whether to bring into force the Easter Act 1928 or to make such other legislative provision as may be needed.

Minerals: Supply Chains

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to help secure critical mineral supply chains.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: We are committed to improving the resilience of critical mineral supply chains. Our Critical Minerals Strategy sets out a wide range of steps we are taking, which will help us accelerate the UK’s domestic capabilities, collaborate with international partners and enhance international markets.On 13th March 2023 the Government published a Critical Minerals Refresh to take stock of the changing global landscape, highlight progress to date, and set out our refreshed approach to delivering all aspect of the Critical Minerals Strategy for UK businesses. As part of this, we are launching an independent Task & Finish Group to investigate critical mineral dependencies, vulnerabilities, and opportunities across UK industry sectors.Through the Critical Minerals Strategy, HMG will accelerate growth of the UK’s domestic capabilities; collaborate with international partners; and enhance international markets to make them more responsive, transparent and responsible.

Minerals

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the paper by the Critical Minerals Association entitled Midstream Processing and Refining: Unlocking Security of Supply, published on 13 March 2023, whether she plans to take steps to (a) map and (b) evaluate where critical mineral resources could be located in historical waste from (i) coal mining and (ii) steel mill flue dust.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government is taking a wide variety of steps to secure the supply of critical minerals for UK businesses, as set out in the recent Critical Minerals Refresh. The Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre, which is in its second year, will be undertaking a study into the opportunities and challenges of extracting critical minerals from legacy mines, mine waste and other waste streams, and will engage stakeholders in the process.

Trade Agreements: Australia

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when the terms of the Free Trade Agreement with Australia will commence.

Nigel Huddleston: Our ground-breaking free trade agreement with Australia is our first ‘from scratch’ since we left the EU, and is set to benefit every nation and region of the UK. We are working hard to bring the FTA into force at the earliest opportunity so businesses and consumers can reap the benefits. This includes working to pass the necessary legislation and to coordinate with Australia. We expect to be able to bring the agreement into force this spring.

Employment Tribunals Service

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of (a) implementing the Law Commission’s April 2020 recommendations and (b) extending the time limit for all Employment Tribunal claims to 6 months.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government welcomed the Law Commission’s report on Employment Law Hearing Structures and is keeping the recommendations made, under consideration. While the time limit for bringing most claims is three months, tribunals have the discretion to provide extensions. We believe that the current approach, taken on a case by basis, is the most proportionate at this time The Government continues to look closely at extending the time limit for bringing Equality Act 2010 based cases to the employment tribunal and are looking to assess the impact of such a change on all aspects of the Employment Tribunal System. Any decision will need to take account of the effect on the wider justice system and on the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas).

Trade Agreements: New Zealand

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, when the terms of the Free Trade Agreement with New Zealand will commence.

Nigel Huddleston: Our ground-breaking free trade agreement with New Zealand is one of our first two ‘from scratch’ agreements since we left the EU, and is set to benefit every nation and region of the UK. We are working hard to bring the FTA into force at the earliest opportunity so businesses and consumers can reap the benefits. This includes working to pass the necessary legislation and to coordinate with New Zealand. We expect to be able to bring the agreement into force this spring.

Aviation: Manufacturing Industries

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to support companies that produce high specification machining parts for aeronautics.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government has been supporting UK aerospace research through the £685m Aerospace Technology Institute programme. Sharing in Growth, an intensive competitiveness improvement programme, has received £86m to support aerospace suppliers. It has created c.2,500 to 3,500 additional jobs and generated a net impact on turnover of £799m to £1,145m across all beneficiaries. The Department is now also working with industry to develop Supply Chain Solutions, an industry funded supplier competitiveness programme. This support helps attract inward investment into the UK, enables exports and helps secure major contract wins such as the recent Airbus deal with Air India.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to Budget Report 2023, HC 1183, published in March 2023, whether she has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on public funding for the automotive sector.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department for Business and Trade Secretary of State and her ministerial team regularly engage with ministerial colleagues to discuss the successful transition to electric vehicles in the UK automotive industry.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Minimum Wage

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2023 to Question 155151 on the Minimum Wage, what the total value of the contracts with the firms named in the list amount to.

Julia Lopez: Details of all government contracts, including the total contract value, above £10,000 for the core Department and above £25,000 for the wider public sector, are published to Contracts Finder as part of the Department’s commitment to transparency.

Music Venues: Ownership

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to assist people managing small music venues to acquire the freehold ownership of those venues in order to create protected leaseholds.

Julia Lopez: The Government is committed to supporting our grassroots music venues, which are the lifeblood and research and development centres of our world-leading music sector.The Music Venues Trust created Music Venue Properties and launched the ‘Own Our Venues’ campaign in June 2022. The campaign is currently raising funds to take control of the freeholds of music venue premises and bring them under a protected status of benevolent ownership. The Government is supportive of this industry-led initiative and welcomes the sector seeking solutions to ensure the longevity of the UK’s beloved music venues. Minister Lopez is meeting Music Venues Trust shortly to discuss issues facing the live music sector, and how to support growth of the music sector and wider Creative Industries.

Youth Services

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she had with Cabinet colleagues on increasing the level of youth service provision in formulating the Budget 2023.

Stuart Andrew: The government recognises the vital role that youth services and activities play in improving the life chances and wellbeing of young people and has committed to a National Youth Guarantee: that by 2025, every young person will have access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer. This is supported by a three-year investment of over £500 million in youth services.Local Authorities have a statutory duty to allocate funding to youth services in line with local need. This is funded from the Local Government settlement, which is anticipated to be almost £60 billion next year (FY 23/24). DCMS is committed to working with Youth Sector organisations and Local Authorities to complete the review of the Local Authority Statutory Duty Guidance for Youth Services.

Swimming Pools: Finance

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to paragraph 4.18 of the Spring Budget 2023, HC1183, published on 15 March 2023, whether the funds allocated to support swimming pools will be available for (a) new and (b) replacement facilities.

Stuart Andrew: At the Budget, we announced a dedicated £63 million support package for swimming pools which is targeted at addressing cost pressures facing public swimming pool providers. It will also help provide investment in energy efficiency measures to reduce future operating costs and make existing facilities sustainable in the long-term.This fund will not be available for new and replacement facilities.

Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla: Broadcasting

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding her Department is making available for the broadcast of the Coronation on big screens.

Stuart Andrew: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport offered funding to the Devolved Administrations, the Mayoral Combined Authorities in England and to ten local authorities in England covering the largest urban populations as a contribution to the cost of hosting public screenings of the Coronation and Coronation Concert. The total amount offered for Coronation screenings was £840,000 which will ensure that we capitalise on the unique opportunity the Coronation offers to bring people and communities together in celebration and showcase the best of the UK to the world.

Eurovision Song Contest

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to ensure that the televised coverage of the Eurovision song contest to be held in Liverpool reflects the success of the Ukrainian entry in the previous year's contest.

Stuart Andrew: It is deeply regrettable that Russia’s illegal invasion has prevented Ukraine hosting the contest in 2023 after its superb victory in last year’s event.The BBC, Liverpool and the Government are fully committed to ensuring the best of Ukrainian culture is showcased in this year's contest and that their win and our friendship with Ukraine will be celebrated appropriately.All editorial decisions on the content of the show are for the BBC to make, and we recognise that the BBC is working alongside the Ukrainian national broadcaster to ensure close creative alignment.

Charities: Cost of Living

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to provide financial support for charities, in the context of the cost of living crisis.

Stuart Andrew: As announced in the recent Spring Budget, the Government will provide over £100 million of support for charities and community organisations in England. This will be targeted towards those organisations most at risk, due to increased demand from vulnerable groups and higher delivery costs, as well as providing investment in energy efficiency.Charities will also continue to receive support for their energy bills until March 2024 under the government’s current Energy Bill Relief Scheme and the future Energy Bills Discount Scheme.

Charities and Voluntary Organisations: Finance

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what process her Department will use to distribute the £100 million for the charity and voluntary sector announced in the Spring Budget 2023.

Stuart Andrew: As announced in the recent Spring Budget, the government will provide over £100 million of support for charities and community organisations in England. This will be targeted towards those organisations most at risk, due to increased demand from vulnerable groups and higher delivery costs, as well as providing investment in energy efficiency.Work is underway to finalise the delivery time frame and eligibility criteria. Further details will be announced as soon as possible.

BBC: Arts

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the potential effect that freezing the TV licence fee has had on the BBC’s funding in arts and culture.

Julia Lopez: The Licence Fee Settlement, announced in January 2022, means the BBC will continue to receive around £3.8 billion in annual public funding. We believe this is a fair settlement for the BBC and for licence fee payers across the UK, that allows the BBC to continue to deliver its Mission and Public Purposes and keep doing what it does best while not placing immediate additional financial pressure on households.The BBC is operationally and editorially independent, and it is up to the BBC to determine how to use its funding to deliver its Mission and Public Purposes. It should prioritise using its £3.8 billion annual licence fee income as necessary to deliver that remit.Ofcom as the BBC’s regulator will ensure the BBC is robustly held to account in delivering its Mission and Public Purposes.

Ministry of Justice

Community Orders

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of community service hours offenders have completed as part of community sentences in each probation region in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Damian Hinds: The table below shows the number of community service hours offenders have completed as a part of community sentences for the period between April 2017 to March 2022, segmented by Probation Region.Region2017/20182018/20192019/20202020/20212021/2022TotalEast Midlands Region364,879362,224343,61653,208203,3671,327,294East of England626,867598,319561,547334,164502,6982,623,595Greater Manchester329,488292,469273,11253,663160,7741,109,505Kent Surrey Sussex Region396,484380,379226,610108,546296,2401,408,259London849,515848,230730,669153,963462,2883,044,664North East Region190,754197,154194,35959,581154,040795,888North West Region498,795512,019473,218100,787322,7301,907,550South Central305,893298,835281,30489,035235,6911,210,759South West333,797353,762327,01187,780295,7171,398,068Wales370,215405,205374,047107,297275,2421,532,005West Midlands Region548,199515,099479,17290,408298,2051,931,084Yorkshire and The Humber551,119516,715491,56998,734335,5661,993,703Unknown Region**17,69031,223113,54419,74241,744223,943National Total5,383,6975,311,6334,869,7781,356,9083,584,30320,506,318The table above provides the last full five years of community service hours completed by offenders on Unpaid Work requirements.These have been segmented by Probation Region. Where prior to unification (July 2021), locations have been mapped to current region. Where mapping has not been possible, due to ambiguous locations, these have been grouped as ‘Unknown Region’.A significant dip in performance can be seen in the years 2019/20 and 2020/21, which is attributed to the pandemic. Community Payback was severely affected by projects, and organisations that provided them, being closed, along with the social distancing rules making it difficult for delivery to continue as normal.

Ministry of Justice: TikTok

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to close its TikTok account.

Mike Freer: The Ministry of Justice does not have, and never has had, an operational TikTok account. Two TikTok account names were acquired for security reasons to ensure another person/party is not able to use them posing as the Ministry of Justice. The accounts have never been used and so there are no current plans to close them. They have zero followers, follow zero accounts, have zero likes and have not shared any content. Staff do not access them.The account names are:‘ministryofjusticeuk’‘justicegovuk’

Students: Death

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of potential merits of introducing a requirement for coroners to inform universities of the death of a student enrolled on a course.

Mike Freer: Every student death is a tragedy. Where a student’s death is investigated by the coroner, it may be appropriate for the higher education provider to have “interested person” status in the investigation and, where this is the case, would be provided with the Record of Inquest which includes the cause of death. Inquest hearings are public and open for anyone to attend.In addition, coroners have a statutory duty to issue a report to prevent future deaths (a PFD report) where they consider that an investigation has identified circumstances which should be addressed to prevent or reduce the risk of future deaths. The report must be made to a person or organisation whom the coroner believes could have the power to take action, which may include higher education providers, and recipients are obliged by law to respond.As coroners are independent judicial office holders, the way in which they conduct their investigations is entirely a matter for them. It would therefore be inappropriate to impose a duty on them to provide information to higher education providers in relation to individual student suicide cases. Moreover, coronial investigations are limited fact-finding exercises, and it cannot be guaranteed that consistent and comprehensive information on a deceased person’s background will be made available to the coroner in every case.The Government expects all higher education providers to take suicide prevention very seriously, providing information with place for students to find help, actively identifying students at risk, and intervening with swift support when needed. Where a tragedy does occur, this must be treated with the utmost sensitivity by a provider. This approach to suicide prevention is set out in the Suicide Safer Universities framework, led by Universities UK and Papyrus and supported by Government. Supporting mental health and ensuring action is taken to prevent future tragedies is a high priority for Government. That is why we have targeted funding at mental health support measure including, partnerships between higher education providers and NHS services to provide better pathways of care for university students.

Suicide: Students

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to require coroners to inform universities when the suicide of an enrolled student is registered.

Mike Freer: Every student death is a tragedy. Where a student’s death is investigated by the coroner, it may be appropriate for the higher education provider to have “interested person” status in the investigation and, where this is the case, would be provided with the Record of Inquest which includes the cause of death. Inquest hearings are public and open for anyone to attend.In addition, Coroners have a statutory duty to issue a report to prevent future deaths (a PFD report) where they consider that an investigation has identified circumstances which should be addressed to prevent or reduce the risk of future deaths. The report must be made to a person or organisation whom the coroner believes could have the power to take action, which may include higher education providers, and recipients are obliged by law to respond.As coroners are independent judicial office holders, the way in which they conduct their investigations is entirely a matter for them. It would therefore be inappropriate to impose a duty on them to provide information to higher education providers in relation to individual student suicide cases. Moreover, coronial investigations are limited fact-finding exercises, and it therefore cannot be guaranteed that consistent and comprehensive information on a deceased person’s background will be made available to the coroner in every case.The Government expects all higher education providers to take suicide prevention very seriously, providing information with place for students to find help, actively identifying students at risk, and intervening with swift support when needed. Where a tragedy does occur, this must be treated with the utmost sensitivity by a provider. This approach to suicide prevention is set out in the Suicide Safer Universities framework, led by Universities UK and Papyrus and supported by Government. Supporting mental health and ensuring action is taken to prevent future tragedies is a high priority for Government. That is why we have targeted funding at mental health support measure including, supporting partnerships between higher education providers and NHS services to provide better pathways of care for university students.

Ministry of Justice: Consultants

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department spent on external consultants in 2022.

Mike Freer: The full spend data for the 2022 calendar year is not yet available.

Undocumented Workers: Convictions

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of the offence of illegal working under Section 34 of the Immigration Act 2016 since the introduction of that offence.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number convictions between 2017 and 2021, for the offence of illegal working in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2021.Information on the number of people convicted prior to 2017 can be found in the Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code data tool, however, there are no convictions for illegal working in this period.

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS: Pensions

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of the 2019-20 NHS Pensions Annual Allowance Charge Compensation Policy.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Suicide Prevention Fund

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to paragraph 4.24 of the Spring Budget 2023, HC1183, published on 15 March 2023, on Suicide Prevention Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) Grant Fund, by what mechanism the grant fund will be allocated; and what his timescale is for allocation of the funding.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hays and Mitie: Contracts

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February to Question 150520 on Minimum Wage, what the total value of the contracts with the firms listed is.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hospitals: Construction

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the cost of the new hospital programme in each hospital trust.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

NHS: Databases

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to ensure the NHS Federated Data Platform will follow data protection obligations.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many mammograms were delayed in (a) England (b) London and (c) Enfield North constituency in the period between 2020 and 2022; and how many delayed mammograms detected breast cancer in (i) England (ii) London and (iii) Enfield North.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Coronavirus: Immunosuppression

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to protect immunocompromised people from covid-19.

Maria Caulfield: Individuals who may be at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19 due to a weakened immune system and despite vaccination, remain a priority for the Government. As such they continue to be offered enhanced protections such as treatments, booster vaccines, free lateral flow tests and public health advice.

Mental Health Services: Veterans

Paul Girvan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions the Government has had had with Northern Ireland Health and Social Care on the potential introduction of Op COURAGE in Northern Ireland.

Maria Caulfield: Health is a devolved matter. The United Kingdom Government has not had any discussions with the Northern Ireland Health and Social Care department on the potential introduction of Op COURAGE in Northern Ireland.

Coronavirus: Immunosuppression

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending eligibility for the Spring 2023 covid-19 booster programme to people living with immunocompromised people.

Maria Caulfield: The primary aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme is to reduce the risk of severe disease across the population. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice has prioritised the most vulnerable of the clinical risk groups for vaccination in this precautionary Spring 2023 COVID-19 booster programme. The programme targets those over the age of 75 years and those who are immunosuppressed. Household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals were eligible in the autumn/winter 2022-2023 booster programme and are likely to benefit as protection against severe COVID-19 disease does persist for a number of months, as shown in analyses of real-world data, previously considered by the JCVI. This data is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccine-weekly-surveillance-reports

Prescription Drugs: Waste Management

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce the waste of prescription medicines.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that surplus prescribed medication is recycled.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help reduce waste in GP dispensing practices.

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the public purse of repurposing unused prescribed medication.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England is leading a programme on medicines optimisation which aims to help patients to improve outcomes and safety, take medicines as intended, avoid taking unnecessary medicines and reduce wastage. For example, Regional Medicines Optimisation Committees were established in 2016 to support and optimise local prescribing practice and reduce unwarranted variation. Community pharmacies also offer the New Medicines Service, providing further support to patients newly prescribed certain medicines, and the Discharge Medicines Service, enabling hospitals to refer recently discharged patients to a community pharmacy for support with new medication. Structured Medicine Reviews are offered by general practices (GPs) where increasingly pharmacists are part of multi-disciplinary teams to review patients’ medication, optimise medication and prevent wastage. In addition, electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD) allows a GP to send repeat prescriptions to a patient’s pharmacy to manage the dispensing of the specific medicines required. As part of the eRD service, the pharmacy is required to make sure that the patient still needs all of their medicines and dispense to the patients only those that are needed. In September 2021, the findings and recommendations of the national overprescribing review were published, setting out a series of practical and cultural changes necessary to ensure patients receive the most appropriate treatment for their needs while ensuring value for money. All pharmacies must by law accept unwanted medicines from patients for disposal. However, the Department does not promote the reuse of medicines returned from patients. Where medicines have left a pharmacy, it is not possible to assure the quality of returned medicines on physical inspection alone. When medicines are returned from patients’ homes, there is no way of guaranteeing that the medicines have been stored or handled appropriately. This could affect patient safety. Therefore, no estimate of the potential savings of repurposing unused prescribed medication has been made.

Dentistry: Training

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide NHS dentists with (a) additional funding for advanced training and (b) paid annual leave.

Neil O'Brien: Dentists working in primary care are often small business owners and hold contracts with NHS England to deliver National Health Service dental treatment. Other dentists, for example those that perform community dental services, may be salaried and managed as NHS trust employees. These salaried staff have access to the NHS total reward package, including paid annual leave.We have no plans to allocate additional funding for advanced training or paid leave for non-salaried dentists providing NHS services. This is because the NHS contracts with independent dental providers to deliver NHS dental treatment in primary care settings. As a result, pay and conditions are agreed between staff and the practice holding an NHS contract. This arrangement provides practices with the flexibility to recruit to meet local needs.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason learning disabled adults have not been included in the covid-19 spring booster 2023 programme.

Maria Caulfield: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is the independent body made up of scientific and clinical experts who advise Government on which authorised vaccines the United Kingdom should use and which groups in the population should be offered initial or further doses of a particular vaccine.The primary aim of the COVID-19 vaccination programme continues to be the prevention of severe disease (hospitalisation and mortality) arising from COVID-19. The JCVI advice is that older persons, residents in care homes for older adults and those who are immunosuppressed continue to be at highest risk of severe COVID-19.For spring 2023 the JCVI has recommended that an extra booster vaccine dose should be offered to adults aged 75 years old and over, residents in a care home for older adults and individuals aged five years old and over who are immunosuppressed, as defined in tables three or four in the COVID-19 chapter of the UK Health Security Agency Green Book. This can be found at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-the-green-book-chapter-14aThose in any risk group, as defined in tables three or four of the Green Book, were eligible for a booster as part of the recent autumn 2022 COVID-19 booster programme. This included all those aged five years old or above who have a learning disability.The JCVI advice published on 27 January 2023 advises that there should be a further booster programme in autumn 2023 for those at higher risk of severe COVID-19. The Government has accepted this advice and the National Health Service is planning for a further COVID-19 booster programme this autumn. Detailed advice from JCVI on which groups should be included is expected to follow in due course.The Government continues to be guided by the JCVI on COVID-19 vaccine deployment and on who should be offered COVID-19 vaccinations. The JCVI regularly reviews its advice in relation to the COVID-19 vaccination programme, considering new data, evidence on the effectiveness of the programme and the epidemiological situation.

Mental Health Services: Standards

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that the CAMHS four week referral and one week urgent referral targets are met across the country.

Maria Caulfield: For children and young people, we have set up the first standard to improve access to eating disorder services for children and young people. This states that 95% of children with an eating disorder will receive treatment within one week for urgent cases and four weeks for routine cases. Prior to the pandemic, significant progress had been made towards achieving the 95% access target.Since the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in demand and more children and young people with an eating disorder are accessing support than ever before. The number of children and young people entering urgent treatment for an eating disorder has increased by 11% to 2,632 in 2021/2022 compared to 2020/2021. The year before this it increased by 73% from 1,373 to 2,372 children and young people.This increase in demand has affected performance against the waiting timing standard and the latest figures show that this is not currently being met. We remain committed to delivering this waiting time standard. NHS England continues to work with system leaders and regions and to ask that areas prioritise service delivery and investment to meet the needs of these vulnerable young people.Since 2016, extra funding is going into children and young people's community eating disorder services every year, with £53 million per year from 2021/2022, rising to £54 million in 2023/2024. This extra funding will enhance the capacity of the 70 new or improved community eating disorder teams covering the whole of the country.We acknowledge that more support is still needed, which is why we are also rolling out mental health support teams as fast as we can, ahead of plan, as well as establishing 24/7 crisis lines.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism: Children and Young People

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessments he has made of the potential merits of implementing the Neurodiversity Pathway for Autism and ADHD for people aged between 0 and 18; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to improve access to specialist services for children with (a) Autism and (b) ADHD; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to reduce waiting times for young people waiting for an (a) Autism and (b) ADHD diagnosis; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Caulfield: This specific assessment has not been made. We expect integrated care boards to have due regard to relevant best practice guidelines when commissioning autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) services for children and young people.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends a maximum waiting time of 13 weeks between a referral for an autism assessment and a first appointment. While we want every area to meet NICE guidance, we recognise that this is not happening everywhere. NHS England publish quarterly data on how many people are waiting for an autism assessment, and for how long, by local area. The data provides useful information to support local areas to identify and manage local demand.We are investing £2.5 million in 2022/2023 to test and embed improved autism diagnostic pathways. NHS England will publish in due course a national framework to support partners in local areas to commission and deliver autism assessment services for children, young people and adults. The aim of the framework is to improve access to and the quality of these assessment processes, reduce the time that people wait for an assessment, as well as improving consistency of support for people while they wait for an autism assessment or after they are diagnosed, including mental health and peer support.With regard to ADHD, while NICE does not recommend a maximum waiting time standard from referral for an assessment of ADHD to the point of diagnosis, a diagnosis of ADHD should be made as soon as possible. In a recent Westminster Hall debate on 1 February 2023, I committed to look at how we can improve data on ADHD assessment waiting times, to help improve access to ADHD assessments in a timely way and in line with the NICE guideline on ADHD.

Health Services: Waiting Lists

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Institute for Fiscal Studies report entitled one year on from the backlog recovery plan: what next for NHS waiting lists, published in February 2023, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of that report's findings on NHS waitlists in 2023 and early 2024; and if he will introduce a requirement to provide personalised pre-operative care for people on waiting lists for surgery.

Will Quince: The Department considers a wide range of material when developing policies. We do not intend to make a specific assessment of this report.Strengthening perioperative pathways is one of the National Health Service’s ambitions, starting at the point of referral or listing for surgery to support patients’ preparation.From April 2023, NHS England is asking providers to establish Perioperative Care Co-ordination teams. These are multidisciplinary teams who will assess health needs to proactively inform pre- and post-operative care and identify surgical risk factors, in order to reduce the chance of cancellations and to improve patient outcomes.Perioperative Care Co-ordination teams will work with patients to develop personalised preparation plans. These plans will detail both the clinical and the wider support needs of patients both leading up to the time of surgery and in the post-surgical period.

NHS: Car Allowances

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with HMRC on the adequacy of mileage rates for NHS workers, in the context of increases in the level of inflation.

Will Quince: As is the practice of successive administrations, the details of internal meetings are not routinely disclosed.On 1 January 2023, the mileage rate for staff who use their vehicles to make journeys in the performance of their duties increased from 56p to 59p per mile, above the HMRC-approved mileage rate of 45p per mile, to recognise the increased cost of motoring.

Health: Working Hours

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to provide funding for research on the potential health risks of night-shift working.

Will Quince: The Department funds research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including the health effects of night shift working. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to Question 158772 tabled by the Rt hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green on 06 March 2023 on Hikvision Cameras.

Will Quince: I refer the Rt. hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 March 2023 to Question 158772.

Medicine: Training

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help increase the number of medical school places in England.

Will Quince: The Government is committed to ensuring that the number of medical school places is in line with England’s workforce requirements.The Government has funded an additional 1,500 undergraduate medical school places per year for domestic students in England, a 25% increase, taking the total number of medical school training places in England to 7,500 each year. This expansion was completed in September 2020 and has delivered five new medical schools in England.In addition, the Government temporarily lifted the cap on medical school places for students who completed A-Levels in 2020 and in 2021 and who had an offer from a university in England to study medicine, subject to their grades. As a result of this temporary change, the intakes for 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 were 8,405 and 8,460 respectively, significantly above the planned expansion cap of 7,500.NHS England has been commissioned to produce a long term workforce plan. The Government has committed to publishing the plan this year, and this will include projections for the number of doctors, nurses and other professionals that will be needed in five, 10 and 15 years’ time, taking full account of improvements in retention and productivity.

Dementia: Hearing Impairment

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will commission research on the potential impact of unaddressed hearing loss on dementia.

Will Quince: Since 2018, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has allocated around £2 million to research the links between unaddressed hearing loss and dementia. This includes the DIADEM project, which is being supported by the NIHR invention for innovation funding programme (i4i) and will evaluate new hearing tests that measure early brain changes in dementia. More information is available at the following link:https://www.nihr.ac.uk/news/11m-investment-into-digital-innovations-to-detect-and-diagnose-dementia/32869Through NIHR-funded Biomedical Research Centres, the NIHR is also supporting medical research into hearing loss and dementia.

Department of Health and Social Care: Procurement

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2023to Question 140109 on Department of Health and Social Care: Procurement, whether previous allegations of improper data usage are taken into account before awarding public contracts that allow private companies access to sensitive patient data.

Will Quince: Allegations of previous improper data usage are not specified in Regulation 57 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, under either the mandatory or discretionary supplier exclusion grounds under which a supplier must or can be excluded from Government procurements. However, on discretionary grounds, bidders are required to confirm there has been no grave professional misconduct which renders its integrity questionable, which includes a breach of contract which amounts to wrongful intent or gross negligence.

Vaccination: Windsor Framework

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether vaccines are contained within the definition of medicines in the Windsor Framework.

Will Quince: Vaccines are a type of medicine. ‘Medicinal products’ are defined in Regulation 2 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. The Windsor Framework secures a United Kingdom-wide regime for the approval and supply of medicines, removing the role of the European Medicines Agency and helping to ensure that medicines are available at the same time and on the same basis right across the UK.

Pholcodine: Death

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of how many people have died due to using pholcodine-containing cough and cold medicines.

Will Quince: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has not identified any deaths in patients in the United Kingdom known to have taken pholcodine or pholcodine-containing medicines, either from reporting to the MHRA Yellow Card scheme, from published literature studies or from any other sources.

Electronic Cigarettes: Standards

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is the policy of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to require pre-market testing of e-cigarette products from any manufacturer who has been found to breach the Tobacco and Related Product Regulations 2016 and who wishes to bring a new product to market.

Neil O'Brien: The notification obligations of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 require producers of E-cigarette products to carry out testing of their products prior to the submission of their notification. This data is submitted as required by the legislation and reviewed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for compliance with the regulations. Where the data provided is compliant with the regulations, the MHRA is required to publish the product on its website. Once published the product can be legally supplied to the United Kingdom. Post market non-compliance is enforced by the Trading Standards authorities.

Electronic Cigarettes: Standards

Royston Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is the policy of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to allow e-cigarette manufacturers to bring e-cigarette products to the UK market using a pre-existing notification that was used for a non-compliant e-cigarette product that was removed from sale.

Neil O'Brien: It is not the policy of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to allow submitters to modify an existing publication in order to bypass the requirements of notification. Therefore, MHRA policy does not permit e-cigarette manufacturers to bring e-cigarette products to the United Kingdom market using a pre-existing notification that was used for a non-compliant e-cigarette product that was removed from sale. The MHRA will review intelligence linked to non-compliant activities on a case-by-case basis.

Dentistry: Occupational Health

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will provide access for all NHS dentists to NHS occupational health schemes.

Neil O'Brien: The National Health Service contracts with independent dental providers to deliver NHS dental treatment in primary care settings. As a result, pay and conditions are agreed between staff and the practice holding an NHS contract. This provides practices with the flexibility to recruit to meet local needs. The NHS occupational health scheme is a scheme that can be accessed by staff engaged primarily in the delivery of NHS services. NHS dentists that do not qualify for these schemes can access occupational health services via primary care.

Dental Services: Contracts

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any of the pilot Integrated Care Boards have made an assessment of the potential merits of replacing the NHS Dental Contract.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England will delegate commissioning responsibilities for dental services from 1 April 2023 to all integrated care board systems. The two types of National Health Service dental contracts, General Dental Services contract and Personal Dental Services Agreement, are nationally agreed regulatory and contractual frameworks which services must be commissioned within. NHS England is currently taking forward a programme of reform work to review the primary care dental contract, with the first set of changes announced in July 2022 and in the Department’s ‘Our plan for patients’ in September 2022.

Dental Services: Standards

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a comparative assessment of (a) the quality of dental services, (b) the dental workforce and (c) oral health outcomes for (i) children and (ii) adults in the UK and other countries.

Neil O'Brien: No assessment has been made of the quality of dental services or the dental workforce in the United Kingdom and other countries.Comparative assessments of oral health across the devolved nations were made for children in 2013 and for adults in 2009 in oral health surveys. The devolved nations now undertake separate surveys of oral health.No comparative assessment of adult or child oral health has been made between the UK and other countries.

Dental Services: Migrant Workers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information he holds on the proportion of dentists from overseas working in NHS dental roles requiring fewer professional competencies while waiting to sit their dental exams.

Neil O'Brien: The Department does not hold this information centrally.

General Practitioners: Standards

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to NHS England's 2023-24 priorities and operational planning guidance published on 27 January 2023, what steps his Department is taking to issue guidance to GPs on best practices for the treatment of conditions which moved to a system of self referral.

Neil O'Brien: The range of options for people to self-refer will streamline access to more services for patients and reduce the need for a general practitioner (GP) appointment where this is not clinically necessary. Integrated care boards will work with local people, GPs, and other stakeholders to ensure they have the relevant information to support self-referral.

Social Services: Pay

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to increase wages in the social care sector above the minimum wage, in the context of rises in the cost of living.

Helen Whately: The Department has no current plans to set a specific minimum wage for care workers. Most care workers are employed by private sector providers who set their pay and terms and conditions. Local authorities work with care providers to determine fee rates, which should take account of wage costs, based on local market conditions.

Cancer: Health Services

Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what progress he has made on the service specifications for teenage and young adult cancer services in England; and when those specifications will be published.

Helen Whately: New Teenage and Young Adult cancer service specifications are expected to be published within the coming months.

Social Services and Voluntary Organisations: Finance

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to provide additional support to (a) social care workers and (b) voluntary care organisations.

Helen Whately: The Government is making available up to £7.5 billion in additional funding over two years to support adult social care and discharge with up to £2.8 billion available in 2023/2024 and up to £4.7 billion in 2024/2025. This funding will put the adult social care system on a stronger financial footing and help local authorities address waiting lists, low fee rates, and workforce pressures in the sector.The Department will shortly publish a plan for how it will reform the Adult Social Care system. The publication will confirm the Government’s commitment to the 10-year vision set out in the People at the Heart of Care white paper. It will provide specific detail on how we will implement proposals on workforce in the white paper, including the funding, activity and milestones.

Lung Diseases: Health Services

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any other Government departments provide funding for the (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment of (i) interstitial lung disease and (ii) idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Helen Whately: The Department has made no arrangements with other Government Departments for funding the diagnosis and treatment of interstitial lung disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.NHS England is responsible for the commissioning of interstitial lung disease services and funds the high cost anti-fibrotic treatments which treat these diseases. Access to these treatments has recently been widened to people with non-idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis with the publication of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Technology Appraisal 747 in November 2021.

Dementia: Hearing Aids

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of increasing the number of people issued with NHS hearing aids on trends in the level of dementia diagnoses in the next 20 years.

Helen Whately: We have no current plans to make a specific assessment.

Social Workers: Pay

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to align the pay of social care workers with NHS agenda for change pay bands.

Helen Whately: The Department has no plans to align the pay of social care workers with National Health Service agenda for change pay bands.

Health Services

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department will publish the Major Conditions Strategy.

Helen Whately: An interim report of the Major Conditions Strategy will be published in the summer.

Integrated Care Boards: Patients

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to (a) review and (b) increase the number of patient representatives included on Integrated Care Boards.

Helen Whately: The Health and Care Act 2022 sets out minimum membership requirements of integrated care boards (ICBs) that include representatives from National Health Service trusts, primary care, and local authorities. However, the local areas can, by local agreement, go beyond the legislative minimum requirements in order to address their local needs.The constitutions of ICBs are expected to include principles and arrangements for how the ICB will work with patients and communities. ICBs are also legally bound under section 13Q of the National Health Service Act 2006 to involve the public in the commissioning of services for NHS patients. ICBs also must set out how they plan to execute this duty in their joint forward plans.Currently there are no plans for the Department to review and mandate any additional requirements for patient representation on ICBs.

Cancer: Palliative Care

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure all cancer patients requiring palliative care services are able to access suitable treatments.

Helen Whately: Cancer patients may require palliative and end of life care alongside active treatment for their underlying condition. All treatment decisions are based on a personalised approach, including informed shared decision making, to meet the individual needs, preferences, and priorities of each patient.

Cabinet Office

Knives: Crime

Janet Daby: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many stabbings have been reported in (a) Lewisham East constituency and (b) the London Borough of Lewisham in each reporting year since 2018.

Alex Burghart: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon. member’s Parliamentary Question of 22/03 is attached UK Statistics Authority Response (pdf, 146.9KB)

Cabinet Office: Consultants

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department spent on external consultants in 2022.

Jeremy Quin: For 2021-22, Cabinet Office external consultancy spend can be found on page 193 of our Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22, linked here. Consultancy spend for 2022-23 will be published in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, later this year. Cabinet Office has a mature assurance framework for Consultancy & Professional Services. A dedicated team exists to assure such spending and make recommendations to officials accordingly for decision. The assurance framework is built on the principles outlined in the Consultancy Playbook and aims to ensure that where such requirements are justified, they deliver value for money for the taxpayer. This use of these consultants is a legitimate part of policymaking that helps to deliver efficient public services to the taxpayer and has been a feature under successive Governments.

Government Consulting Hub

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 17 March 2023 to Question 165263 on Government Consulting Hub: Staff, for what reasons his Department closed the Government Consulting Hub.

Jeremy Quin: The Government Consulting Hub (GCH) was established to ensure the government built more in-house capability.We have made significant progress in this area on a number of fronts. A key focus of the GCH was to develop capability and ownership of this work across government to ensure this is embedded in the long-term.The triage service, developed by GCH, has been transferred to the Crown Commercial Service, building on the work done by GCH with each department - this transition is a recognition of the maturity level of the service, which means it can now integrate with CCS work with consultancy procurement strategies across government. The very well received Consultancy Playbook, setting a new bar of how we get best value from external firms, operates alongside the suite of playbooks, owned and led by the Commercial Function.The GCH capability programme, supporting civil servants to adopt consultancy type skills where appropriate, is now fully onboarded to Civil Service Learning, and will continue to be available to all civil servants. By improving these skills in the public sector, we can continue to ensure the government is only using consultants when absolutely necessary.

Cabinet Office: Billing

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the proportion of invoices his Department paid to small and medium-sized enterprises within five days in the 2021-2022 financial year.

Alex Burghart: This information is not held by the Cabinet Office, as we cannot separate out small and medium-sized enterprises. I refer you to the Cabinet Office Prompt Payment statistics, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1093446/Cabinet_Office_prompt_payment_data_-_April_2021_to_March_2022__3_.csv/preview This Conservative Government knows that small and medium sized businesses are the backbone of the British economy and I am proud of the work we are doing to support them. For instance, the Procurement Bill we are introducing will bring four complex regimes into one and enable simpler, more flexible public procurement processes, giving small and medium sized businesses greater opportunities to benefit from Government contracts.

Vaccination: Death

Esther McVey: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2023 to Question 151283 on Vaccination: Death, and with reference to Tables 6 to 9 of the Age-standardised mortality rates for deaths by vaccination status, England: deaths occurring between 1 January 2021 and 31 May 2022, published on 6 July 2022, for what reason data for children aged 10 to 18 was not included in the Age-standardised mortality rates for deaths by vaccination status, England: deaths occurring between 1 April 2021 and 31 December, published on 21 February 2023; and whether this data will be released.

Jeremy Quin: The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority. A response to the Hon lady’s Parliamentary Question of 20 March is attached. UK Statistics Authority Response (pdf, 106.0KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of how many Universal Credit claimants will be moved into the Intensive Work Search regime as a result of increasing the Administrative Earnings Threshold from the equivalent of 15 hours per week to the equivalent of 18 hours per week at National Living Wage.

Guy Opperman: Based on the latest Spring Budget forecasts, departmental analysts have estimated that this change to the AET will mean approximately 120,000 more claimants are subject to work search and work availability requirements.

Universal Credit: Disqualifications

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many Universal Credit claimants have a sanction lasting (a) 91 and (b) 182 days attached to their account as of 22 March 2023.

Guy Opperman: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Universal Credit

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 50 of the Spring Budget 2023, HC 1183, published on 15 March 2023, whether his Department has conducted an equalities impact assessment of the policy decision to remove the couple’s Administrative Earnings Threshold.

Guy Opperman: Yes, an Equalities Assessment has been conducted.

Universal Credit: Carers

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the (a) demographic and (b) socio-economic characteristics of people who will be affected by the policy decision to implement additional conditionality for Universal Credit claimants that are lead carers of young children.

Guy Opperman: The Department has completed an Equality Analysis which assesses the impact on protected characteristics of the change to the additional conditionality for Universal Credit claimants that are lead carers of young children.

Universal Credit: Carers

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to page 50 of the Spring Budget 2023, HC 1183, published on 15 March 2023, whether his Department has conducted an equalities impact assessment of the policy decision to implement additional conditionality for Universal Credit claimants that are lead carers of young children.

Guy Opperman: The department has carried out Equality Impact Assessment for additional conditionality for lead carers of young children.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the answer of 21 March to Question 166241, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of making this information available.

Guy Opperman: As Universal Credit sanction duration and median sanction length statistics have been suspended from the quarterly benefit sanctions statistics publication we are unable to provide the information.

Universal Credit

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the (a) demographic and (b) socio-economic characteristics of people who will be affected by the policy decision to remove the couple’s Administrative Earnings Threshold.

Guy Opperman: The Department has completed an Equality Analysis.

National Insurance Contributions

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that there are sufficient telephone lines and call handlers available to ensure that those people wanting to top up gaps in the National Insurance contributions between tax years April 2006 and April 2016 are able to do so before the deadline of the 31 July 2023.

Guy Opperman: DWP have been proactively monitoring the increase in call demand since the 22nd of February, regularly adapting its telephony interactive voice response (IVR) approach and also updated Social Media messaging to assist our customers’ experience. DWP are working together with HMRC on an ongoing basis and are flexing personnel resources where possible being mindful of other DWP service lines.

Universal Credit

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish details of the costs associated with the additional work coach capacity required to deliver the In Work Progression offer across Great Britain.

Guy Opperman: The costs for additional work coach capacity for the In Work Progression offer have already been published as part of the Spending Review 2021 and the Autumn Statement 2022. At AS22 we announced a further £45 million of funding.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud and Overpayments

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a target for the reduction of (a) fraud and (b) error overpayments by his Department.

Tom Pursglove: The Department for Work and Pensions is committed to setting Fraud and Error targets as set out in its response to the Treasury Minutes to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty Sixth report of session 2022. This has a target implementation date of Summer 2023. CP 781 – Treasury Minutes Government Response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty-third to the Twenty-sixth reports from Session 2022-23 – January 2023 (publishing.service.gov.uk).

Universal Credit

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of Personal Independence Payment receive Universal Credit and do not have Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity.

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many claimants of Universal Credit have Limited Capability for Work-Related Activity and do not receive Personal Independence Payments.

Tom Pursglove: The department aims to publish a range of information on claimants of Employment and Support Allowance and the health element of Universal Credit in due course, and will pre-announce any publication in line with normal statistical practices.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent steps his Department has taken to share data with banks for the purpose of fraud (a) prevention and (b) protection.

Tom Pursglove: We have interpreted your question as being about the department’s ambition to access greater data from third parties to help tackle fraud and error. Under current legislation, Authorised Officers from the DWP are able to obtain information from specified persons and organisations (this includes: banks, credit unions, friendly societies, industrial and provident societies) about their customers to help detect benefit fraud. Authorised Officers may use the powers when it is necessary and proportionate and in accordance with relevant legislation, to prevent, detect and secure evidence of benefit fraud. The Government will legislate, when parliamentary time allows, for additional powers to require access to data from third parties, in particular banks, to enable the department to more proactively identify potential fraud, such as where claimants might have savings above the capital limit.

Disability Living Allowance: Children

Marsha De Cordova: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, for what reason decision makers grant fixed-term rather than indefinite awards of Disability Living Allowance to children with lifelong disabilities and health conditions where the condition is not expected to improve.

Tom Pursglove: The length of an award of DLA is based on a claimant’s circumstances, taking into consideration that circumstances and needs can change over time, particularly those of children as they grow and develop and may become better able to meet some of their own care needs. Award reviews and renewals play an important role in making sure that children with health conditions and disabilities continue to get the level of financial support they need. We keep our award duration guidance under review, responding to changes in claimant behaviour, changes in claimants’ needs and NHS waiting times. We have reviewed all our guidance and instructions to reduce the requirement for renewals for children whose conditions are unlikely to change.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2023 to Question 159021 on Social Security Benefits: Appeals, for what reason there is a target for implementing tribunal decisions on Personal Independent Payments but not on (a) Employment and Support Allowance and (b) Universal Credit.

Tom Pursglove: Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and Universal Credit (UC) tribunal decisions are processed in a different team to Personal Independence Payment (PIP) tribunal decisions. Although there is no target for implementing ESA and UC tribunal decisions, the department’s overarching objective is, and always has been, to do so without delay.

Department for Education

Disability and Special Educational Needs

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to an Education Health Care Plan on supporting young people with SEND.

Claire Coutinho: The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper sets out the government’s assessment of the challenges that the SEND and AP system face, including education, health and care (EHC) plans. The government has published its proposals to deliver improvements through developing reformed templates and guidance to deliver a nationally consistent EHC plan process. which makes greater use of digital technology, with the aim to increase consistency and the speed with which support is put in place.The government continues to support local authorities with their core budgets, increased to £60 billion for the next financial year. Local authorities have the flexibility to spend according to local needs and priorities, including to undertake the EHC needs assessments.

Children: Disability and Special Educational Needs

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of all children with SEND having access to a Family Hub.

Claire Coutinho: The department published the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, which sets out the next steps we will take to deliver a more positive experience for children, young people and families. The plan can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1139561/SEND_and_alternative_provision_improvement_plan.pdf.The department will establish a single national system that delivers for every child and young person with SEND so that they enjoy their childhood, achieve good outcomes, and are well prepared for adulthood and employment.Family hubs have an important role to play in supporting the delivery of this vision for children with SEND. The department has announced a package of around £300 million to transform a wide range of services for parents, carers, babies, and children in half of upper tier local authorities across England, including by creating a network of family hubs. The department has published guidance setting out the expectations of local authorities receiving a share of the funding, which includes specific expectations around hubs helping families who have children with SEND to access appropriate support and services. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-programme-local-authority-guide.

Disability and Special Educational Needs: Staff

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress she has made on establishing a strategy group to commence the workforce planning across SEND.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is planning to take with Cabinet colleagues to address workforce shortages in roles which support children with special educational needs and disabilities and their families.

Claire Coutinho: The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published on 2 March 2023, set out that the Department for Education will work with the Department of Health and Social Care to take a joint approach to SEND workforce planning, informed by a stronger evidence base. We will establish a steering group this year to oversee this work. Further details on the steering group will be provided in due course.Oversight of our reforms will be driven by a new national SEND and AP Implementation Board, jointly chaired by Ministers from the Department for Education and the Department for Health and Social Care.

Department for Education: Written Questions

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to answer Question 165328 from the Rt Hon Member for Bournemouth East, tabled on 14 March for answer on 17 March.

Claire Coutinho: I can confirm that a response to Question 165328 has been provided to the right hon. Member for Bournemouth East.

Childcare

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make it her policy to ensure the Government's proposals for free childcare for children aged over nine months, as announced in the Budget 2023, apply to parents who already have childcare arrangements in place.

Claire Coutinho: The department is expanding the current free childcare offer, so that eligible working parents in England will be able to access 30 hours of free childcare per week for 38 weeks per year from when their child is 9 months old to when they start school.From April 2024, working parents of 2-year-olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week (across 38 weeks of the year). From September 2024 this will be extended to parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds, and from September 2025 working parents of 9 month to 3-year-olds will be able to access 30 free hours per week (38 weeks a year).Parents who already have childcare arrangements in place will be able to benefit from this new offer, as well as benefiting from the government’s current range of childcare offers, which includes the free early education entitlements as well as Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit Childcare.

Disability and Special Educational Needs: Employment and Social Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Government ensuring that young people with special educational needs and disabilities transition well from the education system into (a) work and (b) a community placement.

Claire Coutinho: Well-planned transitions are key to setting children and young people up for success.On 2 March 2023, the department published the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Improvement plan, in response to the SEND and AP Green Paper, published in March 2022. The Improvement Plan outlines the government’s mission for the SEND and AP system to fulfil children and young people’s potential, build parents’ trust, and provide financial sustainability.The department will improve ordinarily available mainstream provision with new national SEND and AP standards, to ensure we deliver a consistent experience regardless of the setting a child or young person attends, where they live, or their family background.As part of this, the department is currently exploring good practice on transitions, to provide consistent, timely, and high-quality preparation for children and young people with SEND when they transition between different stages of their education, employment, or adult social care services.To further help with preparation for adulthood, the department is supporting the Department for Work and Pensions to develop an Adjustments Passport that will help to smooth the transition into employment and support people changing jobs, including people with SEND. The Adjustments Passport will capture the in-work support needs of the individual and empower them to have confident discussions about adjustments with employers.

Department for Education: Minimum Wage

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 3 March 2023 to Question 155153 on the Minimum Wage, what the total value of the contracts with the firms named in the list amount to.

Nick Gibb: The total contract value for the contracts referenced in the answer to Question 155153 on the minimum wage, is currently £118,151.32.Details of Government contracts above £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder, which can be found here: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search.

Pupil Exclusions: Ethnic Groups

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to address trends in the level of racial inequalities in school exclusions.

Nick Gibb: Behaviour in schools is a priority for the Government. Head teachers use suspensions and permanent exclusions when required as part of creating calm, safe and supportive classrooms. Schools should only use permanent exclusion as a last resort. The Department supports teachers in taking proportionate and measured steps to ensure good behaviour in schools.The updated Suspension and Permanent Exclusion guidance 2022 sets out that schools, Local Authorities, and local partners should work together to understand what lies behind local exclusion trends. Guidance on updated suspension and permanent exclusion can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion.This is in line with the commitment the Government made in Inclusive Britain: the Government’s response to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (published March 2022). Action 36 committed to ‘consult on and publish new and improved guidance on behaviour in schools and on suspensions and permanent exclusions in 2022’.The Department’s ‘Understanding your data: a guide for school governors and academy trustees’ makes clear governing boards should carefully consider the level and characteristics of pupils who are leaving the school and deploy maximum challenge to the school and academy trust management teams on any permanent exclusions to ensure it is only used as a last resort.Schools have a clear duty not to discriminate against pupils under the Equality Act 2010. Ofsted’s assessment of behaviour in schools includes specific consideration of rates, patterns and reasons for exclusions, as well as any differences between groups of pupils.

Arts: Teachers

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the number of teachers working in creative subjects.

Nick Gibb: The number of teachers remains high, with over 465,500 full time equivalent teachers (FTE) working in state funded schools across the country. This is over 24,000 more than in 2010.The Department’s School Workforce Census shows that as of November 2021, there were 12,212 teachers of art and design, 8,976 teachers of drama, and 7,003 teachers of music at Key Stages 3, 4, and 5 in state funded secondary schools in England.The Department wants to ensure it continues to attract, retain, and develop highly skilled teachers. Reforms are aimed not only at increasing teacher recruitment, but also at ensuring teachers stay and thrive in the profession. These reforms will support teacher recruitment and retention across all subjects.The Department is driving an ambitious transformation programme to overhaul the process of becoming a teacher, from stimulating initial interest through marketing and to the start of training. In October 2021, the Department rolled out its new digital service, ‘Apply for teacher training’. This is a key milestone in the delivery of a more streamlined, user friendly application route. The Department’s teaching marketing campaign provides inspiration and support to explore a career in teaching and directs prospective applicants to the Get Into Teaching service.The Department remains committed to delivering £30,000 starting salaries to attract and retain the very best teachers. The Department has implemented the School Teachers Review Body’s recommendation of a significant 8.9% pay uplift to teacher starting salaries outside London in 2022/23, bringing them up to £28,000, and a 5% pay rise for experienced teachers. This is the highest pay award in 30 years.The Department has created an entitlement to at least three years of structured training, support and professional development for all new teachers, including those of creative subjects. Underpinning this is the new Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework and the Early Career Framework. Together, these ensure that new teachers will benefit from at least three years of evidence based training, across ITT and into their induction.Teacher retention is key to ensuring effective teacher supply and quality. The Department has published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing, and support schools to introduce flexible working practices.

Disability and Special Educational Needs: Classroom Assistants

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the level of skills that teaching assistants require in supporting people with SEND; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the remuneration of teaching assistants on recruiting and retaining people with the necessary skills to support children and young people with SEND.

Nick Gibb: The Department published the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper which proposed setting out clear guidance on the effective use and deployment of Teaching Assistants (TA) to support children and young people with SEND. The Department confirmed in the SEND and AP Improvement Plan, that there will be a development of a longer-term approach for TAs to ensure their impact is consistent across the system and the different responsibilities they take on. The Department encourages TAs to be well-trained and to be able to develop specific expertise. The Department will commission a research project to develop its evidence, based on current school approaches, demand and best practice.The Department plans to introduce new guidelines that will set out evidence-based best practice in meeting individual needs, and as part of this will cover guidance on the effective use and deployment of TAs.Many schools pay TAs according to Local Government pay scales. These are set through negotiations between the Local Government Association (LGA), which represents the employer, and Local Government trade unions (UNISON, Unite, and the GMB), which represent the employee.Local Government employees covered by the National Joint Council for Local Government Services pay and conditions, including most school support staff, have been offered a flat cash uplift of £1,925 from 1 April 2023. This is the same cash uplift as was agreed for the 2022/23 pay deal, which equated to 10.5% at the bottom of the pay range, to 4% at the top. The 2023/24 offer is currently under negotiation.

Arts: English Baccalaureate

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to increase the provision of creative subjects in EBacc qualifications.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that pupils have opportunities to study (a) drama, (b) dance, (c) music and (d) art in schools.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that pupils have the opportunity to study creative subjects at A Level.

Nick Gibb: The Department is clear that all pupils should be taught a broad and balanced curriculum. The best schools combine creative subjects with core subjects, and the Department is committed to ensuring that all pupils engage with both. There are no plans to add any additional subjects to those included in the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) performance measure. The EBacc was designed to be limited in size to allow pupils time to study other areas such as creative subjects.The Department believes in a high-quality education for all pupils, and integral to this is cultural education, which includes drama, dance, music and art. All state funded schools are required to teach a broad and balanced curriculum, and this includes promoting pupils' cultural development.The Department will continue to spend around £115 million per annum in cultural education over three years, through its music, arts and heritage programmes. With the real terms per pupil increases to core school funding and the nearly £5 billion that has been announced for education recovery, schools will continue to have the flexibility to deliver a broad and ambitious curriculum and enrichment activities, including in arts and creative subjects.The Department will also be publishing a Cultural Education Plan in 2023, working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports and Arts Council England. The Chair of the Expert Advisory Panel was announced in 2022, and other panel members will be announced in due course. The Plan will focus on how the Government can support participation and progression in a wide range of arts subjects and activities, particularly for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and in underrepresented groups. It will also support young people who wish to pursue careers in the creative, cultural, and heritage industries.Schools and colleges make decisions themselves regarding which A levels they provide based on a range of factors, and this includes responding to pupil demand.

Free School Meals: Pre-school Education

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing free meals for children in the private, voluntary and independent early years sector.

Nick Gibb: The provision of free school meals (FSM) to the children of families who are out of work or on low income is important to the Government. The Department wants to target this support at the most disadvantaged families.The legal requirement for the provision of meals, including free meals, applies to state funded schools, including Maintained Nursery Schools and nursery provision in primary schools. The requirements do not apply to independent early years providers.

Students: Finance

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has taken steps to produce an updated version of the Student Income and Expenditure Survey.

Robert Halfon: The Student Income and Expenditure Survey (SIES) 2021 to 2022 has been commissioned and the report will be published in due course.The last published SIES survey (2014 to 2015) can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/student-income-and-expenditure-survey-2014-to-2015.

Treasury

Motor Vehicles: Prices

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the expensive car supplement.

James Cartlidge: Cars with a list price when new exceeding £40,000 pay an additional supplement for five years as well as paying the standard rate of Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), which means those who can afford the most expensive cars pay more than the standard rate paid by other drivers. The £40,000 threshold was set as a suitable way of distinguishing the more luxury end of the new car market. As around 80% of all new cars currently have a list price below £40,000, the Government considers this threshold to be suitable. As with all taxes, the expensive car supplement is kept under review and any changes are considered and announced by the chancellor.

Royal Mint: Non-fungible Tokens

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether it remains the policy of his Department that the Royal Mint issue a Non Fungible Token.

Andrew Griffith: In consultation with HM Treasury, the Royal Mint is not proceeding with the launch of a Non-Fungible Token at this time but will keep this proposal under review.

Financial Advice Market Review

Harriett Baldwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made on implementing the recommendations of the 2016 Financial Advice Market Review.

Andrew Griffith: The Financial Advice Market Review (FAMR) final report was published in March 2016, setting out a package of 28 recommendations, which HM Treasury and the FCA have since implemented. Key pieces of work taken forward as a response to the FAMR recommendations include clarifying the definition of financial advice and introducing the Pension Advice Allowance to allow consumers to withdraw £500 from their pension pots to pay for advice. In December 2020, the FCA published an evaluation of the 2016 FAMR. This showed that the financial advice market was moving in the right direction, with more people accessing financial advice. However, there are still some remaining policy challenges to help the market work better for consumers, including around helping consumers make better investment decisions.As part of the Edinburgh Reforms, the Chancellor committed to working with the FCA to examine the boundary between regulated financial advice and financial guidance, with the objective of improving access to helpful advice, support and information, while maintaining strong protections for consumers.

Credit Suisse: Takeovers

Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for (a) his policies and (b) the banking sector of the treatment of additional tier-one bondholders in the takeover of Credit Suisse.

Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the value of Additional Tier 1 bonds supporting UK banks is; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the takeover of Credit Suisse on UK Banks' ability to issue those bonds in the future.

Andrew Griffith: As noted by the Chancellor on Monday 20 March, the Government welcomes the steps taken by the Swiss authorities in relation to Credit Suisse to support financial stability. The Bank of England published a statement to reiterate the creditor hierarchy in the UK. The statement confirmed that Additional Tier 1 (AT1) instruments rank ahead of Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) and behind Tier 2 (T2) instruments in the insolvency creditor hierarchy. Holders of such instruments should expect to be exposed to losses in resolution or insolvency in the order of their positions in this hierarchy. The Prudential Regulation Authority is responsible for supervising UK banks’ capital adequacy requirements. The Bank of England's quarterly statistical release shows that the value of Additional Tier 1 capital in the UK banking sector was £67 billion as at Q3 2022. This figure includes both externally issued and intragroup capital instruments. The Governor of the Bank of England has confirmed that the UK banking system remains safe, sound and well capitalised.

Pensions: Taxation

Jessica Morden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of how many people in (a) Newport East constituency and (b) Wales will benefit from the end of the lifetime limit on tax-free pensions.

Andrew Griffith: Information on the abolition of the lifetime allowance can be found in the Pension Tax Limits Policy paper Pension Tax Limits - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Help to Buy Scheme: Individual Savings Accounts

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made with Cabinet colleagues of the impact of the help to buy ISA scheme on house prices.

Andrew Griffith: The Help to Buy: ISA’s property price cap of £250,000 for properties outside London (£450,000 within London) allows the Government to target support more precisely at the people the scheme is intended to help. Since its launch in 2015, the scheme has supported 531,507 property completions across the UK, with a mean property value of £176,828 compared with an average first-time buyer house price of £245,350.Further information on the Government’s home purchase support schemes can be found at: https://www.ownyourhome.gov.uk

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Paula Barker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether all callers to HMRC are charged the same rate.

Victoria Atkins: Phone providers set telephone call charges, including for calls to HMRC. For more information on telephone call charges, please refer to the GOV.UK website here: https://www.gov.uk/call-charges.

Small Businesses: Loans

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the SME lending proposals in the PRA Consultation CP 16/22 on the Implementation of the Basel 3.1 standards, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of those standards on the supply of funding available to SMEs in (a) the UK and (b) Shipley constituency.

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department has had with the (a) Bank of England, (b) Prudential Regulation Authority and (c) Financial Conduct Authority on the potential impact of removing the support factor for SME lending.

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the proposals on SME lending in the PRA Consultation CP 16/22 on the Implementation of the Basel 3.1 standards, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of those proposals on meeting the PRA’s mandate to promote competition in the banking sector.

Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the proposals on SME lending in the PRA Consultation CP 16/22 on the Implementation of the Basel 3.1 standards, what assessment he has made of the impact of the proposals on the ability of challenger banks to compete with the principal six banks on SME lending.

Andrew Griffith: The Government is currently consulting on its proposals for Basel 3.1. This includes proposals for deleting retained EU law including those which relate to the prudential rules on SME lending. The detailed implementation of the Basel package however, has been delegated to the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) as the UK’s expert regulator. The PRA is consulting under an accountability framework agreed by Parliament, and has requested information from firms on specific measures including those relating to lending to SMEs. The consultation can be found here:https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/prudential-regulation/publication/2022/november/implementation-of-the-basel-3-1-standards The Government continues to work closely with the PRA and businesses to understand the impact of potential changes including for the international competitiveness of the UK, the impact on SME lending and the nature of competition between banks that operate in the domestic market.

Electronic Funds Transfer: Fraud

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with representatives of social media platforms on authorised push payment fraud.

Kirsten Oswald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department is taking to help prevent authorised push payment fraud.

Andrew Griffith: The Government takes the issue of authorised push payment (APP) fraud very seriously. Working alongside the regulators, law enforcement, and industry, the Government continues to support numerous fraud-prevention initiatives, including the Payments Systems Regulator’s work to enhance information sharing between payment providers, and the near-ubiquitous rollout of Confirmation of Payee. HM Treasury is also investigating amending legislation to enable payment service providers to delay payments beyond the existing legislative timescales in limited, high-risk fraud scenarios, in order for enhanced customer engagement to take place. This could enable firms to take more of a ‘risk-based’ approach to payments processing. The Government also recognises that many sectors have a role to play in preventing fraud. By including the fraudulent advertising duty in the Online Safety Bill, the government is introducing new duties on online platforms to establish systems and process that prevent users encountering fraudulent content on their sites. If platforms do not comply with this, they could face fines of up to £18 million or 10% of their annual turnover, whichever is higher. The Home Office will publish the Government’s broader Fraud Strategy shortly. The Strategy will set out the Government’s comprehensive efforts to combat fraud, prosecute criminals, and protect customers. Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial and permanent secretary meetings with external organisations on departmental business are published on a quarterly basis and are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmt-ministers-meetings-hospitality-gifts-and-overseas-travel

Income Tax: Tax Allowances

John McNally: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of implementing income tax relief in cases where a portion of a taxpayer's income is used to subsidise the (a) costs of living and (b) course fees of another person who is in college or university education.

Victoria Atkins: The Government has provided a significant package of support to help households and individuals with the cost of living, taken together this is worth over £94 billion over 2022-2023 and 2023-2024. There are a wide range of factors to take into consideration when introducing a tax relief. These include, but are not limited to: how effective the relief would be at achieving the policy intent, how targeted support would be, whether it adds complexity to the tax system and the cost. Such an income tax relief would be regressive, as it would be of greatest benefit to those paying higher rates of tax while low-earning individuals with income below the Personal Allowance or the higher rate threshold would benefit less or not at all. The Government does keep all aspects of the tax system under review.

3D Printing: Capital Allowances

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether investments in 3D printers qualify for full expensing as part of the capital allowances scheme announced in the Spring Budget 2023, HC1183.

Victoria Atkins: Full expensing is available for qualifying expenditure on main rate plant or machinery incurred on or after 1 April 2023 but before 1 April 2026 subject to certain conditions. A 3D printer is a machine so it would be eligible for full expensing provided the other conditions are met. For example, the expenditure must be incurred by a company within the charge to corporation tax, the plant or machinery must be new, and must not be bought to lease to someone else. More details on the conditions for full expensing are available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/full-expensing.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Local Government Finance

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent assessment he has made of the ability of local councils to balance their budgets.

Lee Rowley: We are in close and regular contact with sector representative bodies and councils to monitor budgets and service delivery.The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 makes available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England - a significant increase in funding which is designed to assist councils in service delivery.

Housing: Construction

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will issue statutory guidance on planning to local authorities to ensure that all future developments include flood mitigation measures.

Rachel Maclean: The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that areas of flood risk should be avoided and where not possible then all risks should be mitigated.This is supported by the Flood risk and coastal change Planning Practice Guidance which we significantly revised in August 2022.

Affordable Housing: Construction

Wera Hobhouse: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to increase the availability of affordable housing.

Rachel Maclean: This Government is determined to increase levels of affordable housing, and as my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State has outlined already, we are investing £11.5 billion through our Affordable Homes Programme which will deliver tens of thousands of much needed affordable homes right across the country.Additionally, we remain committed to delivering at least as much on-site affordable housing through our proposed new Infrastructure Levy.

Investment Zones

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether funds provided to investment zones may be used to provide business rate relief to (a) shops and (b) other businesses.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of investment zones on the displacement of shops and other businesses.

Dehenna Davison: I refer the Hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question UIN 167099 on 21st March 2023.Places will be expected to set out how their Investment Zone proposals deliver value for money, additionality and avoid displacement.

Mayors

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what discussions he had with (a) Mayors and (b) Metro Mayors on formulating the Budget 2023.

Dehenna Davison: Ministers and officials work closely with all layers of local government including mayors and metro mayors.

Levelling Up Fund

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2023 to Question 167097 on Levelling Up Fund and with reference to Section 2(a) of his Department's data entitled Capital regeneration projects: accounting officer assessment, published 8 March 2023, if he will publish the equalities impact assessment mentioned in this section of the document.

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 21 March 2023 to Question 167097 on Levelling Up Fund and with reference to Section 2(a) of his Department's data entitled Capital regeneration projects: accounting officer assessment, published 8 March 2023, how many regeneration and town centre bids exceeded the minimum score of 75 but did not receive funding because their value was more than £10 million.

Dehenna Davison: I refer the Hon. Member to the published letter to ministers relating to PSED assessments, and to the Accounting Officer assessment available online. Further announcements and publications will be set out in the usual way.

Question

Caroline Ansell: What progress he has made on devolving power to local communities.

Dehenna Davison: Through the announcement of six new devolution deals last year and most recently ground-breaking trailblazer devolution deals with Greater Manchester and West Midlands Combined Authorities, as well as the publication of the English Devolution Accountability Framework, Government is empowering local leaders by ensuring they have more control and influence over the decisions that affect their communities.

Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact of the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill on intergovernmental relations.

Felicity Buchan: Minimum service levels are necessary across Great Britain to minimise the impacts that strikes have on the lives and livelihoods of the public. We recognise this will affect employers operating services that are devolved and have been clear that we want to engage with Devolved Governments on this Bill.

Budget March 2023: Scotland

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will discuss with Cabinet colleagues the potential implications for his policies on intergovernmental relations of the Scottish Deputy First Minister’s letter to the UK Government on the Spring Budget, dated 15 March 2023.

Felicity Buchan: Last year we held over 270 intergovernmental ministerial meetings bringing together Government and Devolved Administration colleagues.I was pleased that the Deputy First Minister noted in his letter the positive collaboration between our officials in delivering Green Freeports and City Region and Growth Deals as an example of good intergovernmental relations.My ministerial colleagues and I will continue working closely with the devolved administrations.

Social Rented Housing: Council Tax

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of the affordability of Council Tax on social tenants in housing valued in Bands D or above.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the impact of the affordability of Council Tax for residents who own a share of an equality share property that has been valued at Bands D or above.

Lee Rowley: Councils are responsible for taking decisions on council tax, taking into account local circumstances, although the Government maintains referendum thresholds to protect residents from excessive increases.Councils are required to put in place local support schemes for taxpayers in financial need. For 2023-24, the Government is providing councils with £100 million of additional funding to support vulnerable households with their bills.

House of Commons Commission

Parliamentary Estate: Drinks

John Spellar: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, whether the Commission is taking steps to increase the availability of beverages produced in the UK on the Parliamentary estate.

Sir Charles Walker: The catering service, alongside the Parliamentary procurement team, is working to increase availability of UK products. It sells regional products, promoting where availability allows and collaborating with suppliers. As an example, in the last year we have introduced a range of craft UK gins. I shall write to the hon. Member with more information.

Home Office

Visas: Ukraine

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of automatically extending visas for people in the UK under the (a) Homes for Ukraine, (b) Ukrainian Family Scheme and (c) Ukraine Extension Scheme, if the war in Ukraine continues.

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending visas under the (a) Homes for Ukraine scheme, (b) Ukrainian Family Scheme and (c) Ukraine Extension Scheme beyond the initial three-year period.

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending visas under the (a) Homes for Ukraine scheme, (b) Ukrainian Family Scheme and (c) Ukraine Extension Scheme for people who enter (i) further and (ii) higher education.

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to provide assurance to those people in the UK under the (a) Homes for Ukraine scheme, (b) Ukrainian Family Scheme and (c) Ukraine Extension Scheme on the longer-term status of their visa; and if she will make a statement.

Robert Jenrick: In response to Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine, we launched one of the fastest and biggest visa schemes in UK history, with over 220,000 visas issued under Ukraine Schemes; 67,000 through the Ukraine Family Scheme and 156,000 through the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme.We firmly believe that Ukraine will be safe again and we will continue to support the Ukrainian Government for as long as is necessary in their efforts against Putin.The Government of Ukraine has been clear that it needs citizens to return to Ukraine when it is safe to do so, to help rebuild the country.Therefore, our approach has been to provide Ukrainians with access to a three-year visa for temporary sanctuary in the UK, providing them with certainty and stability while they are here, to settle into jobs, schooling and accommodation.Of course, we keep any future need for an extension of leave in the UK under review, in line with developments of the situation in Ukraine.

Firearms: Licensing

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of legislation on the ownership of firearms.

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that police forces in England are following guidance on the processing of shotgun licence applications.

Chris Philp: We keep our controls on firearms under constant review to safeguard against abuse by criminals and terrorists and to minimise the risk to public safety.The Coroner at the Inquest into the fatal shootings at Keyham issued Prevention of Future Deaths Reports on 8 March with recommendations for the Government to consider in relation to firearms licensing legislation. In addition, we are also considering recommendations from the Independent Office for Police Conduct, in relation to their investigation in respect of the Keyham shootings, and recommendations from the Scottish Affairs Select Committee in respect of their inquiry following the fatal shooting on the Isle of Skye.On 1 November 2021, we published new Statutory Guidance for Chief Officers of Police on firearms licensing. Police forces have a legal duty to have regard to this guidance when carrying out their firearms licensing function. The Statutory Guidance provides guidance to the police on assessing the suitability of applicants to possess firearms, including applications made for shotgun certificates, and is helping to improve the quality of police firearms licensing procedures and achieve greater consistency across police forces. A refreshed version of the Statutory Guidance was reissued in February this year. This followed a first-year review of the guidance.

Police: Vetting

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) she and (b) Ministers in her Department have had recent discussions with the National College of Policing on the adequacy of vetting procedures for people applying to become police officers.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many meetings the Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire has had with representatives of the College of Policing; and on what dates those meetings took place.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will bring forward legislative proposals on a national standard for the vetting of police officer applicants in the 2022-23 parliamentary Session.

Chris Philp: Police vetting is already underpinned by a statutory code of practice which is issued by the College of Policing. Forces are required to carry out their vetting in line with the statutory code as well as the College of Policing’s vetting authorised professional practice (APP) guidance on vetting.The Minister for Crime, Policing and Fire and the Home Secretary have regular discussions with the College of Policing. Following concerns raised by a number of high-profile cases of police misconduct and by the government-commissioned inspection into vetting by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), the Home Secretary recently asked the College to update their statutory code of practice on vetting which will provide stricter obligations on Chief Officers on how vetting should be carried out within their forces.The public consultation for the updated vetting code closed on 21st March 2023 and will be effective immediately once laid in Parliament following consideration of any feedback.

Mental Health Services and Police

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on improving communication between police forces and mental health teams on the detention of people with mental health illnesses.

Chris Philp: The Home Secretary last met with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on 22nd March 2023 where mental health and policing was discussed.The Government is committed to working with policing and healthcare partners to drive forward improvements to mental health prevention, treatment and crisis response. There is ongoing partnership work between HMG, health and police partners to develop a National Partnership Agreement to ensure that people in crisis receive the right response from the right agency. This work also considers wider work streams to improve partnership working between health and police on mental health pathways.The Home Secretary wrote to all Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners on 23rd February to set out agreements made between the Home Office and Department for Health and Social Care on policing and mental health.

Cannabis: Medical Treatments

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department plans to extend Target Pharmacy's licence for Bedrocan products.

Chris Philp: The Home Office Drug and Firearms Licensing Unit (DFLU) considers applications for premises and company specific controlled drug licences.All applications are considered individually and on their merits, after undertaking a physical site visit- if one is needed- and reviewing the evidence submitted to support an application. A prospective licensee may need to demonstrate that product(s) meet the criteria to be considered medicines, and that there is an evidenced need for them. DFLU cannot comment on individual licence applications that may have been made to it.The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is the independent regulator for pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy premises in Great Britain.

Motor Vehicles: Theft

Mr Louie French: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle (a) the theft of motor vehicles and (b) the use of signal blockers in those crimes.

Chris Philp: The Government is committed to tackling vehicle crime.We are working closely with police and motor manufacturers through the National Vehicle Crime Working Group, chaired by ACC Jennifer Sims, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for vehicle crime, to take forward a programme of work to prevent and reduce vehicle crime nationally. This includes training police officers on methods used to steal vehicles, encouraging vehicle owners to secure their vehicles and working with industry to prevent theft.A network of vehicle crime leads has been established in every police force in England and Wales, ensuring forces share information about emerging trends in vehicle crime and are better able to tackle regional issues.A vehicle crime intelligence group has been set up to monitor emerging trends in vehicle crime, such as the use of signal blockers, and provide a link between the Home Office, police, vehicle manufacturers and Thatcham Research, the automotive insurer’s research centre.

Fire and Rescue Services: Finance

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to increase funding to the Fire and Rescue Services in the context of recent rises in inflation.

Chris Philp: Overall, fire and rescue authorities will receive around £2.6 billion in 2023/24. Fire and rescue services have the resources they need to do their important work.Standalone fire and rescue authorities will see an increase in core spending power of 8.1 per cent in cash terms compared to 2022/23.DLUHC published the final Local Government Settlement on 6 February 2023 setting out the referendum principles for Local Authorities in 2023/24. All standalone FRAs will be able to increase their Band D council tax by £5. This will raise £67m if all standalone FRAs choose to make full use of the flexibility.The final settlement also confirms that Revenue Support Grant and Baseline Funding Levels will increase in line with September CPI (10.1%). This represents a good deal for fire and rescue and will help to manage their inflationary pressures.

Forensic Science

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of forensic scientific investigations (a) undertaken in-house by police forces and (b) outsourced to specialist laboratories in each of the last five years.

Chris Philp: The Home Office does not hold information centrally on the number of forensic scientific investigations and whether such investigations were undertaken in-house by police forces or outsourced to specialist laboratories.

Firearms and Explosives: Licensing

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the finings of Maxine Davison, Lee Martyn, Sophie Martyn, Stephen Washington and Kate Shepherd: Prevention of future deaths report, issued by Senior Coroner Ian Arrow, what steps she has taken to help ensure accredited training for Firearms and Explosives Licensing Unit staff.

Chris Philp: This recommendation was made as part of the Prevention of Future Deaths report issued by the Senior Coroner in Plymouth on 8 March, following the Inquest into the tragic shootings in Keyham on 12 August 2021, to the College of Policing (CoP), the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and the Home Office.The CoP are responsible for the development of training, and we are supportive of the work that they are currently undertaking to develop new Authorised Professional Practice (APP) and a package of accredited training for police firearms licensing staff.I hope to make an announcement, as part of a future statement to the House, when I set out how the Government intends to proceed with the recommendations made by the Senior Coroner at the Inquest, together with the other recommendations made in recent reports by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), in relation to Keyham, and the Scottish Affairs Select Committee in respect of their inquiry following the fatal shooting that occurred on the Isle of Skye on 10 August 2022.

Metropolitan Police: Stun Guns

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of adults in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency who were tasered by the Metropolitan Police from January 2022 to January 2023 by (a) age and (b) ethnicity.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of adults in London who were tasered by the Metropolitan Police from January 2022 to January 2023 by (a) age and (b) ethnicity.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of children in Hornsey and Wood Green constituency who were tasered by the Metropolitan Police from January 2022 to January 2023 by (a) age and (b) ethnicity.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number of children in London who were tasered by the Metropolitan Police from January 2022 to January 2023 by (a) age and (b) ethnicity.

Chris Philp: The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of incidents where a CED (Conducted Energy Device; Taser) was used, by the age and ethnicity of the individual involved, in the ‘Police use of force, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, available here:Police use of force statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)These data are collected by police force area only. Data for lower levels of geography, such as Parliamentary Constituencies, are not collected.Data on the number of incidents involving CED by police force area (including the Metropolitan police force area) by officer perceived age group and officer perceived ethnicity for the year ending 31 March 2022 are available in the open data table that accompanies the release here:Police use of force statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)CED use includes where the CED was discharged (drive-stun, fired and angle drive-stun) and not discharged (drawn, aimed, red-dotted and arced). The open data table presents whether a CED was used and the ‘highest’ use in columns BR and BS.Data covering 1 April 2022 to 31 January 2023 have not yet been collected by the Home Office. Annual data covering the year ending 31 March 2023 will be published in late 2023.

Visits Abroad: Rwanda

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how her Department decided which news organisations to invite to join her recent visit to Rwanda; and whether she made an assessment of the potential impact of the Government Communication Service Propriety Guidance on the organisations invited.

Robert Jenrick: Due consideration of the GCS guidelines is undertaken in Home Office communications.All news organisations were kept informed of the progress of the visit regardless of whether they attended or not.

Interpol: Belarus

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with Interpol on the membership status of Belarus.

Tom Tugendhat: The Government has a regular and ongoing dialogue with INTERPOL on a range of matters.The UK is an active participant in INTERPOL’s Governance Working Group, which discusses all aspects of INTERPOL’s Constitution, including membership.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2023 to Question 152302 on Refugees: Afghanistan, how many Afghan citizens are living in temporary accommodation in the UK; and how many and what proportion of these are children.

Robert Jenrick: 9,483 people, around half of whom are children, are currently living in hotel or serviced accommodation. This figure changes frequently as new arrivals enter the UK and others move into settled accommodation.The above is the best available operational data, as of 31st December 2022.More information on those that we are temporarily accommodating in hotels can be viewed at:   Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Passports

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits for early renewal of passports and reduction of pressure on HM Passport Office staff of allowing up to six months remaining validity of old passports to be added to new passports.

Robert Jenrick: When renewing a British passport between 2001 and September 2018, up to nine months of remaining validity of the old passport could be added to the new passport. Renewed adult passports could therefore be valid for up to 10 years and 9 months.The UK was the last country to carry over unused validity to a new passport. However, international civil aviation guidelines are that an adult passport should be valid for a maximum of 10 years, and a passport for a child should be issued for a maximum of five years.Alongside side this, each country, or group of countries, may set out a requirement for passport validity as a condition of entry. This includes passports held by a third-country national, such as a British citizen, not being permitted to enter countries within the Schengen Area with a passport that was issued more than ten years previously. For these reasons, there are currently no plans to return to the policy of adding remaining validity to new passports.

Asylum: Applications

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to set a target for determining the outcome of asylum applications.

Robert Jenrick: We are taking immediate action to speed up asylum processing so that asylum seekers do not wait months or years, at vast expense to the taxpayer, waiting for a decision. The Prime Minister has made a commitment to clear the backlog of legacy asylum claims, those made before 28 June 2022, by the end of this year. A new accelerated service standard is being developed and we are testing the impact of several coordinated initiatives, such as enhanced screening and case triage. To further accelerate decision making we are driving productivity improvements by streamlining interviews, simplifying processes, and dealing with cases more swiftly where they can be certified as manifestly unfounded. We have already doubled our decision makers over the last 2 years, and we are continuing to recruit more. This will take our expected number of decision makers to 1,800 by summer and 2,500 by September 2023.

Passports

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many passport applications took longer than three weeks to process in (a) 2019, (b) 2022 and (c) the final quarter of 2019.

Robert Jenrick: In 2019*, 382,390 passports issued through standard UK or international services, which was 6% of the total printed, were from applications that had taken longer than three weeks. In the final quarter of 2019, 102,647 passports issued through standard UK or international services, which was 9.7% of the total printed, had taken longer than three weeks. The published processing guidance for standard UK applications at that time was three weeks, with the exception of adults applying for their first British passport who were advised that it took six weeks.In 2022, 2,620,038 passports issued through the standard UK or international services, or 34.5% of the total printed, had taken longer than three weeks. However, no application in 2022 was subject to a three-week processing timeframe. With approximately 5 million people having delayed their passport application due to the restrictions upon international travel caused by COVID-19, this led to unprecedented passport demand in 2022. Since April 2021 the published processing guidance for all standard UK applications has been ten weeks.Across January and February 2023, 95.5% of standard UK passport applications were processed within three weeks.*The data held for 2019 is in working days, and the data held for 2022 in calendar days. This includes an assumed delivery period once the passport is printed (two days in the UK, seven days overseas).

Visas: Seasonal Workers

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason her Department decided to remove the licence held by AG Recruitment as a sponsor of workers on the seasonal workers' visa scheme.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Fruitful Jobs retains its licence as a sponsor of workers on the seasonal workers' visa scheme.

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps people using Seasonal Worker visas can take if they wish to raise grievances about the process; and what steps she is taking to ensure that seasonal workers are informed of their rights.

Robert Jenrick: AG Recruitment & Management Ltd had their licence revoked due to failing to meet the sponsor duties as per the sponsor guidance which can be found at Workers and Temporary Workers: guidance for sponsors part 3: sponsor duties and compliance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).Fruitful Ltd hold a sponsor licence, although it is currently suspended while the Home Office investigates the level of compliance with the sponsor duties.The Scheme Operators are responsible for managing all aspects of the recruitment and placement of workers on UK farms, and ensuring their welfare in the UK which includes informing and being clear to workers of their rights. All operators have procedures for workers to raise grievances and for these to be resolved formally.The Home Office and Defra monitor the scheme closely to ensure operators adhere to the stringent requirements set for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of the seasonal workers.

Immigration

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if it remains her Department's policy to reduce net migration to the tens of thousands.

Robert Jenrick: As the Prime Minister has said, the Government remains committed to reducing net migration over time, while ensuring we have the skills our economy needs to grow. The Government continues to keep the immigration system under review.

Slavery

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the Illegal Migration Bill on victims of modern slavery trafficked into the UK.

Robert Jenrick: I refer the Hon. Member to my response to Question 161356 on 22 March: Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament.

Visas: Syria and Turkey

Ms Anum Qaisar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a temporary visa scheme to allow people affected by the earthquake in (a) Syria and (b) Türkiye to travel to the UK.

Robert Jenrick: The Government has no plans to implement specific schemes for those impacted by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria. Existing visa routes for those wishing to come to the UK are available. The UK continues to provide lifesaving and emergency support, coordinating closely with the Turkish government and United Nations in Syria to ensure our support meets the needs on the ground and that we can stay responsive to emerging needs.

Visits Abroad: Rwanda

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she had discussions with her Rwandan counterpart on instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo caused by Rwanda-backed rebels during her visit to that country.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has her department made of (a) potential for conflict between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda and (b) the potential effect of that possible conflict on the UK's agreements with Rwanda.

Robert Jenrick: As set out in the relevant country policy and information notes (CPINs), our own comprehensive assessment of Rwanda and their asylum process has found it is a fundamentally safe and secure country with a track record of supporting asylum seekers. Our CPINs are kept under constant review and updated periodically to reflect any significant new issues or evidence and are available on the Gov.UK website.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Litter: Enforcement

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the impact of trends in the level of local authorities' budgets on litter-related enforcement action.

Rebecca Pow: The Department has not made any specific assessment of trends in local authority budgets on litter related enforcement action. Our new Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan sets out how we will support councils to take tougher action against those who litter, fly-tip and graffiti. This includes significantly raising the upper limit on fixed penalty notices, to £1,000 for fly-tipping and £500 for littering and leaving graffiti, and measures to help councils issue more penalties. Receipts from fixed penalties will be reinvested in clean up and enforcement. We are also currently undertaking a research project on the effectiveness of the different enforcement options available to local authorities and the barriers they face in using these. The project is due to complete by the summer and the results will inform future policy development in this area.

Tree Felling

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she provides guidance to local councils on large-scale tree felling projects.

Trudy Harrison: The government is committed to protecting our valuable street trees. The government requirement for local authorities to consult the public when they fell street trees will come into force later this year. We will be issuing guidance on the duty to consult later this year. The consultation process will increase transparency in decision making and allow the public to be consulted before a street tree is felled. In December 2022 we published best practice guidance for local authorities to produce their own local tree and woodland strategies, supporting local authorities to expand, manage and protect local treescapes. The Local Authority Tree and Woodland Strategy Toolkit provides step-by-step guidance to develop an effective trees and woodland strategy to realise the multiple benefits trees can deliver to communities. We want to see more trees close to where people live. Defra supports LAs tree planting activity through access to several of the Nature for Climate Fund Grant schemes, such as the Local Authority Treescape Fund, Urban Tree Challenge Fund, Woodland Creation Accelerator Fund and the England Woodland Creation Offer.

Tree Felling: Plymouth

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of Plymouth City Council removing 100 trees from Armada Way on her Department's tree planting policies.

Trudy Harrison: We want to see more trees in our urban spaces, not less, and that is why we have legislated a statutory tree and woodland target to increase tree canopy and woodland cover of England to 16.5% by 2050. This includes individual trees outside woodlands. The Environment Act requires new developments and infrastructure projects to achieve at least a 10% measurable biodiversity net gain ensuring that nature will be retained and enhanced in the built environment. This year (2022/23) £5.4 million has been made available through the Local Authority Treescapes Fund to support the planting and maintenance of trees in urban areas. It is for the local planning authority to consider any development proposals on their individual merits and to decide on the appropriate route to granting planning permission where that is required.

Food: Procurement

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of Government food procurement standards for supporting British produce.

Mark Spencer: The UK produces world leading quality food and drink, demonstrating excellence in animal welfare and sustainable production standards. The Government has a Manifesto commitment to encouraging the public sector to procure British food to support the environment, animal welfare and our farmers. To achieve this aim, we consulted last summer on options to update our public sector food procurement standards. This included a proposal to increase the amount of food procured to higher environmental production standards, such as LEAF and organic, and higher animal welfare within the public sector. We are reviewing the responses received through the consultation and will be considering how best to update the current standards for public sector food and catering.

Environmental Land Management Schemes

Danny Kruger: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to (a) support and (b) require landowners to (i) undertake repairs to (A) footpaths, (B) stiles, (C) gates and (D) other rights of way and (ii) improve public access to the countryside under Environmental Land Management schemes.

Mark Spencer: The Government supports the health and wellbeing benefits that access to the countryside can bring, including improving physical and mental health and supporting local communities and economies. Landowners have a statutory duty to keep public rights of way in good working order and therefore this is not covered by Environmental Land Management Schemes, unless they choose to upgrade to provide additional access, e.g. from a stile to a gate via under Countryside Stewardship (option AC1). Under Countryside Stewardship, we currently pay for the following actions to help improve public access to the countryside:Farmers hosting tours of their farms for school pupils and care farming visitors (ED1)Providing access maps and signage, and preparing sites for access by providing toilet facilities, shelters, new footpaths, bridges and gates, with the objective of greater public accessibility of the countryside (AC1)Accreditation for staff carrying out countryside educational access visits (AC2)A supplement to enable permissive access across woodland, where access is currently limited (WS4) Public access is also supported by our Landscape Recovery scheme, with projects being assessed for the benefits they will deliver for a wide range of objectives. Under the England Woodland Creation Offer, higher payments are available if woodland is located close to settlements within the 40% most deprived areas in England, or if it will provide new long-term permissive access for recreation. Additionally, through our Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, we provide funding to support and improve Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks. We pay for projects providing opportunities for people to discover, enjoy and understand the landscape and its cultural heritage, including permissive access. We do want to offer further support for access to our countryside, and so under our Environmental Land Management Schemes we are also now exploring how we can pay for:New permissive accessManaging existing access pressures on land and waterExpanding educational access beyond groups of school pupils and care farming visitors

Hill Farming

Sir Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with Natural England on supporting the value of traditional farming and the social and cultural capital of its communities supported by upland farming in a manner that encourages the promotion of each.

Mark Spencer: Natural England’s role is to help conserve, enhance and manage the natural environment for the benefit of present and future generations in a way that contributes to sustainable development. We hold regular discussions with Natural England to support this aim.

Pigs: Animal Housing

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to introduce a ban on the use of farrowing crates.

Mark Spencer: I refer the Rt hon. Member to the answer given on 20 March 2023 to the Rt hon. Member for Brighton Pavilion, PQ UIN 166171.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Finance

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what her Department's capital departmental expenditure budget will be in (a) 2023-24 and (b) 2024-25; and which grants will be affected by changes in the level of funding.

Mark Spencer: The Department’s current capital budgets by year are laid out in the published Supplementary Estimate (section 1.7 on page 42) at:https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/34194/documents/188105/default/ Our three-year budget was set at Spending Review 21, with detailed allocations made via our business planning process. Budgets are revisited annually and updated to reflect delivery expectations and emerging priorities. Details of all changes made to individual grant schemes could only be provided by incurring disproportionate costs.

Fruit and Vegetables: Prices

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent estimate she has made of the average price differential between the retail price of British fruit and vegetables sold in the UK and the prices paid to UK-based primary producers for those products.

Mark Spencer: Defra has not made such an estimate. Defra does not collect commercial data specifically on the prices primary producers receive for these products. The Office for National Statistics does publish average retail prices for a selection of fruit and vegetables alongside its monthly consumer price inflation figures. However, these prices do not distinguish between home grown and imported products.

Food: Labelling

Ian Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of food labelling practices by supermarkets; and if she will bring forward legislative proposals requiring supermarkets to label the country of origin on food packaging.

Mark Spencer: Country of origin information is already required for all prepacked food where its omission would be misleading to consumers, and is required for fresh and frozen meat of beef, sheep, goat, pigs and poultry, as well as for uncut fresh fruit and vegetables, honey, olive oil and wine. For processed food, where the origin of the primary ingredient is different to that of the food itself and the origin of the food is given, an indication that the origin of the primary ingredient is different or the specific origin must also be provided. In any case, where an origin or provenance is given or indicated including when provided voluntarily this must always be accurate. Shops and supermarkets will often label their British cheese, hams and bacon when they are made from British milk and meat, helping shoppers easily identify and buy great British produce.

Avian Flu: Compensation

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with insurance companies about their willingness to insure poultry farmers against losses related to bird flu which are not covered by Government compensation schemes.

Mark Spencer: We are aware that the recent unprecedented outbreak of AI has created problems for some poultry producers in obtaining insurance. We are considering a number of options to both engage with insurers in explaining the measures that Defra and the industry has put in place, and in working with the industry to improve on-farm biosecurity.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Billing

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the proportion of invoices her Department paid to small and medium-sized enterprises within five days in the 2021-2022 financial year.

Mark Spencer: The proportion of private sector invoices paid within five days and 30 days is published quarterly and can be viewed at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/defra-prompt-payment-performance-report. Defra is not able to accurately identify small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in our supplier data and therefore we report on all payments of private sector invoices. The Procurement Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will create a simpler and more transparent procurement regime that will further open up public procurement to SMEs. The Bill includes a new duty on contracting authorities to have regard to the particular barriers facing SMEs. Specifically, the Procurement Bill will imply 30-day payment terms into every sub-contract that is substantially for the purpose of performing a public contract. This will ensure SMEs at every tier of the public supply chain can benefit from faster payments, even if 30-day terms are not explicitly written into the contract.

Marine Protected Areas

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to advocate for high seas Marine Protected Areas in all regional fisheries management organisations of which the UK is a member.

Mark Spencer: The UK uses its engagement in Regional Fisheries Management Organisations and other international fora to push for outcomes focussed on managing fisheries sustainably, protecting marine ecosystems (including those covered by Marine Protected Areas) and combatting illegal fishing.

Chemicals: Regulation

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the impact of the December 2021 principles for the inclusion of Substances of Very High Concern on the UK REACH Candidate List on (a) the substitution of hazardous substances, (b) information for consumers on the presence of Substances of Very High Concern in products, (c) consumer protection from Substances of Very High Concern and (d) environmental protection from Substances of Very High Concern.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2022 to Question 110317 on Chemicals regulation, how often her Department plan to add new substances to the UK Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern; when her Department plans to (a) review its interim approach and (b) seek feedback on the operation of that list.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if her Department has carried out a cost benefit analysis of changes to the identification and control of Substances of Very High Concern.

Rebecca Pow: UK REACH retains the fundamental approach and key principles of EU REACH, ensuring a high level of protection of human health and the environment. The substances on the EU REACH candidate list were automatically carried forward into UK REACH at the end of the transition period. In future, substances will be added to the list on the basis of the best UK scientific advice, taking into account our own risk assessments. The interim approach to adding new SVHCs to the candidate list was agreed by Defra, the Welsh and Scottish governments, based on expert advice from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the Environment Agency, as well as feedback from a range of stakeholders. The approach made no practical change to the availability of consumer information. We will review our approach and input will be sought from a range of stakeholders as we do this. The HSE intends to update the candidate list annually.

Reservoirs: East of England

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) Anglian Water and (b) Water Resources East on the suitability of the proposed Fens Reservoir to support agricultural use.

Rebecca Pow: Through the Environment Agency’s National Framework for water resources, we have set out in detail our expectations for water companies on better collaboration on water resources management. Guided by the National Framework, Water Resources East, whose members include those in the agricultural sector, has been consulting on its draft water resources plan. The draft plan sets out how it will help secure water supplies in the long term, including accounting for agricultural water needs and includes new strategic infrastructure projects, such as the proposed Fens Reservoir. Water Resources East’s draft plan has been used to inform Anglian Water’s statutory draft water resources management plan. The Government also supports the agricultural sector with its Farming Transformation Fund grants for the construction of new reservoirs, with a second round set to launch in spring 2023.

Litter: Regulation

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help (a) tackle (i) urban and (ii) rural littering and (b) assess the effectiveness of litter reduction campaigns.

Rebecca Pow: Our Litter Strategy for England sets out our aim to deliver a substantial reduction in litter and littering within a generation. The strategy contains a number of commitments focused on three key themes, including education and awareness. Progress reports on delivering these commitments are available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/litter-strategy-for-england-progress-reports. We have also published a data dashboard to understand the extent of litter and littering in England. Further updates to the dashboard will be available in due course. The dashboard can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/litter-and-littering-in-england-data-dashboard.

Environment Protection: Standards

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations she received from (a) Natural England, (b) the Environment Agency and (c) the Office for Environmental Protection on the preparation of the Significant Improvement Test published on 31 January 2023.

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February Question 140080 on Environment Protection: Standards, if she will publish that evidence base.

Trudy Harrison: The preparation of the Significant Improvement Test and the Secretary of State’s conclusion that the Significant Improvement Test had been met adhered to the legislative requirements set out in the Environment Act 2021. Targets were developed using an extensive evidence base. Defra Arm’s Length Bodies were engaged during the early development of the Significant Improvement Test. Defra continues to work with the Office for Environmental Protection to enable it to carry out its monitoring and reporting functions.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Israel: Palestinians

Sam Tarry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Israeli counterpart on recent reports of violence in Huwara and Nablus.

David Rutley: The UK condemned in the strongest terms the retaliatory incidents of violence by settlers against Palestinians, and we have stressed the importance of the Israeli security forces providing appropriate protection to the Palestinian civilian population. The Foreign Secretary echoed this message of de-escalation in his meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Cohen on 21 March. The Minister of State for the Middle East, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, set out the UK's position at the scenes of abhorrent violence in Huwarra in his 26 February statement on Twitter.

Marine Environment: Treaties

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, when the High Seas Treaty will be ratified.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Draft text for an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction - the BBNJ Agreement - was agreed on 5 March. It will be adopted by the Intergovernmental Conference at a further meeting, later this year. This is a landmark agreement for biodiversity and will mean much greater protection for over 60% of the global ocean. The UK will work to ratify the Agreement as soon as possible, and work with global partners to ensure it is implemented quickly and effectively.

Russia: Sanctions

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to introduce sanctions on people in Russia who have been sanctioned by the US and Canadian governments for their role in the prosecution of the British national Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK Government does not speculate on future designations as to do so could reduce their impact. To date, we have sanctioned over 1500 individuals and entities through the Russia Sanctions Regime, and over 90 individuals and entities under the UK's Global Human Rights Regime. This includes individuals involved in Mr Kara-Murza's case, such as jailer Dmitry Komnov and Judge Podoprigorov.The UK continues to raise Mr Kara-Murza's case with the Russian authorities and call for his release. Officials have attended his court hearings, and will attend a hearing on Tuesday 28 March. We remain vigilant to attempts by the Russian government to exclude diplomats from future hearings.

Bangladesh: Ahmadiyya

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in Bangladesh.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Preventing religious violence and upholding Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Bangladesh is a UK priority. In March, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon met State Minister Alam and discussed the violence against the Ahmadiyya in Bangladesh and underlined the importance of freedom of religion and belief. Our support in Bangladesh aims to ensure that the rights of religious minorities, including the Ahmadiyya community are respected, and that these communities are protected from discrimination. We regularly engage with a wide range of civil society and non-governmental organisation partners to understand the causes and effects of inter-religious conflict. The UK will continue to support freedom of religion and belief, and human rights concerns through regular dialogue with the Government of Bangladesh and through our development programme funding.

Ukraine: Cybersecurity

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many full time staff from (a) his Department and (b) other Government departments are working on the Ukraine Cyber Programme.

Leo Docherty: The Conflict Stability and Security Fund Ukraine Cyber Programme is a cross government fund led by FCDO and supported by the Ministry of Defence, National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre. We do not release more detailed information on the Ukraine Cyber Programme for operational security reasons.

Ukraine: Cybersecurity

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the budget is for the Ukraine Cyber Programme in the 2022-23 financial year.

Leo Docherty: We have led the way alongside international partners to identify and expose malign Russian activity and to hold Russian hostile activity to account. Since Putin's invasion in February, we have committed a total of £7.3 million through the Conflict Stability and Security Fund Ukraine Cyber Programme to date; this is to protect Ukraine's critical national infrastructure and vital public services from cyber-attacks.

East Africa: Food Supply

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made a recent assessment of trends in the level of food security in East Africa.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Humanitarian needs and food insecurity are rising across East Africa. The UN estimates that almost 72 million people will require humanitarian aid in 2023 due to a combination of pressures including ongoing drought, flooding and conflict. Of this number, almost 48 million people currently face "severe" levels of food insecurity. This financial year the UK will allocate at least £156 million in humanitarian support across the region; UK funding will benefit millions of people.

Ethiopia: Development Aid

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how much aid his Department has provided to Ethiopia in each of the last five years.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The official source of data on UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) is Statistics on International Development. The table below shows (in £ thousands) FCDO's and Other Government Departments/other contributors' net bilateral ODA provided for the benefit of Ethiopia from 2017-2021 (the latest year for which data has been published). The UK also spends ODA in the form of unearmarked contributions to multilateral organisations and there is bilateral spend to programmes which benefit multiple countries or regions. Some of this may benefit Ethiopia but it is not possible to provide a specific breakdown.Table 1: Volume of FCDO and other Government departments' net bilateral ODA provided for the benefit of Ethiopia (2017-2021) Thousands (£) 20172018201920202021Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office322,686297,628295,505249,478118,049Other Government Departments/ other contributors3,4453,7133,7414,4091,741Total UK Net ODA326,131301,341299,246253,887119,790Source: Statistics for International Development https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-on-international-development

LGBT+ People: Human Rights

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to protect LGBTQ rights internationally.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: LGBT+ rights are human rights. Through our network of over 280 missions, we engage diplomatically and deliver programmes to further our key priorities of tackling violence, reforming laws, championing inclusion and supporting LGBT+ people during crises and conflict. For example, in The Commonwealth, since 2018 we have provided over £13.5 million to build the capacity of grassroots LGBT+ organisation and human rights defenders.

Uganda: LGBT+ People

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make representations to his Ugandan counterpart on the anti-LGBTQ+ bill that would make homosexual acts punishable by death in that country.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: I [Minister Mitchell] have expressed the UK's deep disappointment with the decision of the Parliament of Uganda on 21 March 2023 to pass the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The UK is alarmed by the increasing criminalization of LGBT+ people in Uganda. This Bill threatens minority rights and risks persecution and discrimination of all people across Uganda. Amendments to the Bill, including introduction of the death penalty for 'aggravated homosexuality', are very worrying. The UK Government is firmly opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country.

Canada: British Nationals Abroad

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with Canadian (a) parliamentarians, (b) Ministers and (c) officials on UK pensioners living in Canada.

David Rutley: The Foreign Secretary has not had recent discussions with Canadian Ministers, parliamentarians or officials regarding UK pensioners living in Canada.

Canada: Reciprocal Arrangements

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the Canadian Government’s 2020 and 2022 requests for a new reciprocal social security agreement.

David Rutley: The Foreign Secretary has not had discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on this matter. There are two separate social security arrangements in place between the UK and Canada, made in 1995 and 1998. The UK Government has no plans to change the social security relationship with Canada.

Ecuador and Peru: Earthquakes

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support (a) Ecuador and (b) Peru following the earthquake on 18 March 2023.

David Rutley: UK officials at the British Embassies in Quito and Lima have been monitoring developments following the earthquake on 18 March that affected Ecuador and Peru. Neither the Ecuadorean nor Peruvian governments have formally requested bilateral assistance from the UK. I [Minister Rutley] passed on my condolences to the Ecuadorean Foreign Minister and Minister for the Environment for the lives lost and casualties in Ecuador when they joined an event virtually, that I attended in person, on 22 March.

Iran: Detainees

Ms Anum Qaisar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what progress he has made on securing the release of UK joint nationals who are arbitrarily detained in Iran.

David Rutley: The FCDO provides consular support to the families of dual British nationals detained in Iran when they request our support. It remains in Iran's gift to release any British National who has been unfairly detained and we urge the Government of Iran to stop its practice of unfairly detaining British and other foreign nationals. We will continue to work with like-minded partners to that end.

Haiti: International Assistance

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department plans to take steps to work with the United Nations to help with its March 2023 request for the deployment of an international specialised support force in Haiti.

David Rutley: The UK is aware of the deteriorating security situation in Haiti and we encourage international partners to work together to assist in Haitian-led efforts to tackle the underlying causes of gang violence. UK officials are actively engaged in UN Security Council discussions on Haiti, including those on security. We will continue to work with our international partners to ensure a coordinated and coherent response.

Israel: Diplomatic Service

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports of staff from the Consulate General in Jerusalem wearing t-shirts which erase Israel's existence at a marathon race event in Jerusalem on 10 March 2023.

David Rutley: There is no implication for UK policy. The UK's position is long-standing - we wish to see a viable two-state solution with Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace, prosperity and security.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Billing

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the proportion of invoices his Department paid to small and medium-sized enterprises within five days in (a) the 2021-2022 financial year and (b) each of the last 12 months.

David Rutley: Data on the prompt payment statistics for FCDO pertaining to financial year 2021/22 can be found published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fcdo-prompt-payment-data-2021-to-2022. Publication of data for financial year 22/23 has been delayed by the implementation of a new Finance system in the second half of 2022, but will be published as soon as it is available. The FCDO aims to pay all valid invoices from all UK suppliers, including small to medium-sized enterprises, as quickly as possible, and as the published statistics show our average success rate in paying invoices within 5 days between April 2021 and March 2022 was circa 95 percent. The Procurement Bill, currently passing through Parliament, will create a simpler and more transparent procurement regime that will further open up public procurement to SMEs.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

UK Intellectual Property Office: Pay

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent progress has been made on negotiations on Intellectual Property Office staff pay.

George Freeman: Formal pay negotiations with Intellectual Property Office Trades Unions concluded in December 2022. The 2022/23 pay award for IPO staff was implemented in January 2023.

UK Intellectual Property Office: Pay

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what the average salary for senior patent examiners employed by the UK Intellectual Property Office was in (a) 2010 and (b) 2022; and what the change in value of the 2022 salary was in real terms compared with the 2010 salary.

George Freeman: The IPO no longer holds average salary data for 2010. However, we have historic information on maximum salaries for the Senior Patent Examiner role and have provided a comparison based on these figures.GradeMax 2009/10Max 2021/22RPI adjusted 2009/10 Max*Real terms change (%)Senior Patent Examiner (C2)£53,478£59,274£80,691-36%* Adjusted for RPI: All items percentage change August 2009 to March 2022

Research: Wales

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to help ensure that research excellence in Wales is considered for new government-funded (a) research contracts and (b) national facilities.

George Freeman: Wales is home to significant national research capabilities including the Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult based in Newport and the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University. Excellence is a key criterion for the allocation of research funding to institutions in all parts of the UK. It is central to the Research Excellence Framework, managed by the research funding bodies including the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales. In addition, the Government has given UKRI a new organisational objective to support levelling up, and increase consideration of local growth criteria and impact in R&D fund design.

Innovation and Research: Economic Situation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister of State, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on 15 March 2023, Official Report, column 816, what the evidential basis is for saying that the innovation economy has increased from 1.7 per cent of gross domestic product to 2.8 percent.

George Freeman: I refer the Hon. Member to the answers I gave her on 30 November 2022 to Question 93719, and on 17 January 2023 to Question 122143. Following the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) R&D release, the Department believes that, if the ONS had calculated R&D as a percentage of GDP, it would have produced a figure between 2.6% and 2.7% of GDP for 2019 and between 2.9% and 3.0% for 2020. I used 2.8% in my oral reply as a shorthand for the approximate size of UK R&D in the economy.

Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access: Research

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made an assessment with the Department of Health and Social Care of the impact of rebates in the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access on investment in research and development.

George Freeman: The Government has considered in broad terms the link between volume-based rebate payments in our medicine pricing schemes and various kinds of investment in our Impact Assessment of recent updates to the Statutory Scheme for branded medicines pricing, which operates alongside VPAS. The Government’s 2023 Impact Assessment of updates to the Statutory Scheme can be found here: www.gov.uk/government/consultations/proposed-update-to-the-2023-statutory-scheme-to-control-the-costs-of-branded-health-service-medicines.The Government is working to better understand the impacts the operation of the current Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access (VPAS) on investments and the footprint of the UK life sciences industry. We are therefore in direct conversations with companies to understand these impacts. The Department for Science Innovation and Technology is in close discussions with the Department of Health and Social Care, and Department for Business and Trade about the business environment for life sciences and its impact on investment.

Trade Marks: Foreign Companies

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure the legitimacy of Trade Mark Applications by made by foreign based applicants to the UK Intellectual Property Office.

George Freeman: The Intellectual Property Office carries out formality checks on all applications, whether domestic or foreign based. They also conduct robust examination of all Trade Mark applications to ensure each Trade Mark meets the requirements under UK law before it is accepted. Under UK Trade Mark law, third parties can also challenge Trade Mark applications and registrations on various grounds if they believe there are issues.

Lung Diseases: Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her (a) Department and any b) non-departmental public bodies funded by her Department have funded research into the (i) diagnosis and (ii) treatment of (A) interstitial lung disease, (B) idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and (C) lung disease.

George Freeman: UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, funds a variety of research covering lung diseases. The UKRI Gateway (https://gtr.ukri.org/) provides data on publicly funded research and innovation which is searchable by year and subject area.

UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the press release titled Plan to forge a better Britain through science and technology unveiled, published 6 March 2023, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of the £10 million uplift to the UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund on (a) the number of successful UK-based technology companies in future and (b) the ability of the Fund to help create the next Apple, Google or Tesla.

George Freeman: The Government is committed to ensuring the UK Tech Sector realises its potential, which can only be achieved by supporting tech companies to grow, scale and list here. The UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (UKI2S) provides crucial, patient capital to early stage, UK-based tech companies arising from the research base. Since its creation, UKI2S has an outstanding track record of successfully investing in early stage tech businesses. The uplift will further support the development of very early stage, high risk tech companies, increase private sector investment, promote opportunities for portfolio companies to scale, and support world-changing ideas to address global challenges.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: Procurement

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many suppliers her Department excluded from procurement on the grounds of (a) fraud, (b) corruption and (c) other grounds under the Public Contract Regulations 2015 from 2015 to 2022.

George Freeman: The information requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. To obtain the information a manual search through individual records would be required as this is not recorded centrally on departmental systems.The grounds for the exclusion of bidders from public procurement procedures are set out in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. These rules set out the circumstances in which bidders must, or may, be excluded from a public procurement process.The Procurement Bill brought forward by this Conservative Government, currently being considered by Parliament, expands the scope of misconduct which can lead to exclusion. We are also increasing the time period within which misconduct can lead to exclusion from 3 years to 5; bringing subsidiary companies into scope of exclusion; and making the rules clearer so that contracting authorities can undertake exclusions with more confidence.

5G: Social Rented Housing

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps she is taking to ensure that social housing landlords are not unduly burdened by additional maintenance costs to their buildings following the installation of 5G antennas and similar equipment by telecoms firms.

Julia Lopez: The legal framework underpinning rights to install and maintain digital communications infrastructure on land is contained in the Electronic Communications Code (the Code).The Code does not give operators unilateral rights to install apparatus on private land. Such rights can only be obtained with the occupier’s agreement, or, in cases where an agreement cannot be reached, by application to the tribunal. The majority of Code agreements are negotiated by mutual consent between operators and occupiers. The recent Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022, contains measures which encourage parties to engage in alternative dispute resolution. These measures are designed to make it easier for parties to reach an agreement consensually.The agreement reached between the parties will typically provide for the payment of consideration, which is the amount the relevant person, who is often the landowner, receives for permitting telecommunications apparatus to be sited on its land. In addition, the parties may agree an additional amount of compensation to cover any loss or damage which the relevant person will incur because of the telecoms apparatus being installed or the operator exercising its rights under the agreement. This could include additional maintenance costs incurred.This is reflected in the Code by a requirement for the tribunal to make an order in relation to consideration and a discretion given to it to make an order in relation to compensation, if the parties are unable to agree and the tribunal imposes a Code agreement.Taken together, the provisions on consideration and compensation mean that landowners, including social housing landlords, should receive a fair payment for allowing their land to be used in the rollout of vital digital services.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment has he made of the (a) timeliness and (b) accuracy of the communications that people received informing them of their eligibility for the Warm Homes Discount following the decision to include high energy costs in the payment eligibility criteria.

Amanda Solloway: Between 7 November 2022 and 16 January 2023, around 3.8 million letters were sent to customers in England and Wales who were potentially eligible for the Warm Home Discount rebate. Over 96% of those letters were mailed by 9 December 2022, and the remainder by 16 January 2023. These letters explained the scheme and what actions, if any, customers needed to take. There were 6 letter types for different customer circumstances. The evaluation of the reformed Warm Home Discount scheme is expected to commence in Summer, with a view to monitoring the results and informing the future of the scheme.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the number of people who receive qualifying benefits and have had to reduce their energy usage following the decision to include high energy costs in the payment eligibility criteria.

Amanda Solloway: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) does not hold information about the number of households in receipt of benefits or their eligibility for payments. The Department for Work and Pensions may hold that information. DESNZ has provided support to all households to help them with the cost of energy through the Energy Price Guarantee and Energy Bill Support Scheme. Government support for the average household has totalled £1,300 over winter 2022/23.

Members: Correspondence

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when he plans to respond to the letter of 8 March 2023 from the hon. Member for Enfield North on energy support for businesses.

Amanda Solloway: The Department aims to respond where possible, to correspondence within 15 working days. I will write to the Hon. Member shortly about energy support for businesses.

Energy: Meters

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether standing charges will remain on pre-payment meters.

Amanda Solloway: Standing charges are a matter for energy suppliers. The standing charge reflects the ongoing costs that fall on a supplier to provide and maintain a live supply to a customer’s premises. As announced in the Spring Budget 2023, the Government will remove the premium paid by households using prepayment meters by bringing their charges in line with comparable direct debit customers until the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) ends. This measure will eliminate the premium paid by households on prepayment meters, which is worth around £45 per year.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what estimate he has made of the number of people who receive qualifying benefits who are now no longer eligible for the Warm Homes Discount following the decision to include high energy costs in the payment eligibility criteria.

Amanda Solloway: The Government published impact assessments when consulting and publishing the Government’s response, which compared the option for reforming the scheme to continuing the previous scheme. As households previously applied through their suppliers, who set their own application processes and eligibility criteria and selected successful applicants each year, the government has not been able to assess how many households previously eligible are no longer eligible.

Energy: Terminal Illnesses

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what support his Department is providing to families of children with life-limiting illnesses for energy costs.

Amanda Solloway: The Energy Bills Support Scheme and the Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) have provided financial support to all families to help manage the rising costs of their energy bills.Households using alternative fuels are entitled to a £200 Alternative Fuel Payment. In addition to the Energy Affordability schemes, families with children with life-limiting illnesses are also entitled to a one-off £150 Disability Cost of Living Payment.As set out in the Autumn Statement, the Government is developing a new approach to consumer protection in energy markets, which will apply from April 2024 onwards including options such as social tariffs, as part of wider energy retail market reforms.

Energy: Hospitality Industry and Retail Trade

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps is he is taking to help (a) retail and (b) hospitality businesses with energy costs.

Amanda Solloway: The Energy Bill Relief Scheme provides a discount on the wholesale element of gas and electricity bills to ensure that all eligible businesses, including the hospitality and retail sector, are protected from high energy costs this winter period. Following an HMT-led review, the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme will run from April until March 2024, and continue to provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers, including the hospitality and retail sector. Additional government support for the sector includes Retail, Health and Leisure relief increase from 50% to 75%, a multiplier freeze for 2023-24, and capping of transitional relief for rateable values.

Energy: Small Businesses

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what methodology his Department used to assess the impact of energy costs on small businesses; and whether he plans to introduce further support to businesses for energy costs after 1 April 2023.

Amanda Solloway: The Energy Bill Relief Scheme review included an assessment of qualitative and quantitative evidence from stakeholders, including small businesses, on sectors that may be most affected by rising energy prices based on energy and trade intensity.The outcome of the review informed the criteria of the new Energy Bill Discount Scheme (EBDS), which will continue to provide eligible UK businesses and other non-domestic energy users with a discount on high energy bills from April until 31 March 2024. A higher level of support will be provided for the most energy and trade intensive sectors who meet agreed thresholds for energy and trade intensity through the Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) Scheme element of the EBDS.The methodology used to determine the eligibility of SIC Codes for the higher Energy and Trade Intensive Industry (ETII) support is published at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-discount-scheme-factsheet.

Alternative Fuel Payments: Houseboats

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to take steps to extend the Alternative Fuel Bill Support Scheme to people permanently living on house boats.

Amanda Solloway: House boats with a permanent residential mooring can receive the Alternative Fuel Payment via the Alternative Fund where otherwise eligible. To check eligibility and apply, people need to search for “Apply for the alternative fuel bill support if you do not get it automatically” in the search bar on GOV.UK or in an internet search engine. The Government is also keen to support those without fixed address. The Government is currently working to find an acceptable method for these households to provide proof of eligibility, whilst protecting public funds, so they can claim the AFP AF support.

Green Gas Support Scheme

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the Green Gas Support Scheme beyond 2025.

Graham Stuart: The Green Gas Support Scheme (GGSS) Mid-Scheme Review Consultation, published on 23 March 2023, sets out a proposal to extend the GGSS scheme to 31 March 2026, and seeks views on this. The Government expects this proposed extension to help address delays resulting from challenges securing waste, and to mitigate supply chain issues.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: TikTok

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to delete his TikTok account in the context of government guidance.

Graham Stuart: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has never used TikTok on Government devices and believes security measures such as not sharing location permission are sensible. However, the Secretary of State believes representatives of the people should engage with the public on the platforms that they actually use.

Energy: Prices

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to help (a) decouple the cost of gas and electricity, (b) encourage consumers to choose renewable alternatives to fossil fuels and (c) consumers who choose renewable energy sources to benefit from lower energy prices.

Graham Stuart: As part of the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA) programme, the Government is considering a range of potential options to shield consumers from the impacts of potential future commodity price spikes and to ensure they benefit from lower cost renewables. The CfD scheme already insulates consumers against electricity price spikes. Over time this scheme will significantly reduce dependence on fossil fuelled power generation, lowering consumer exposure to gas prices.

Nuclear Fission: Research

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the development of nuclear fission technology of the reduction in the numbers of Centres for Doctoral Training funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council since 2013.

Andrew Bowie: According to the Nuclear Innovation and Research Advisory Board (NIRAB), more than 400 students have followed the nuclear CDT programmes over the last ten years, with the vast majority following careers in the nuclear sector afterwards. We continue to work closely with the nuclear sector and academia to drive forward the necessary actions to enhance our nuclear capabilities in support of our energy security objectives and net zero ambitions.

Great British Nuclear

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the National Nuclear User Facility ending in March 2024 on Great British Nuclear; if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending funding for that scheme beyond March 2024; and whether he has had recent discussions with relevant stakeholder on that scheme.

Andrew Bowie: The National Nuclear User Facility (NNUF) is funded through UKRI and provides equipment for, and access to, state-of-the-art experimental facilities focused on research and development in nuclear science and technology. This work is very different to more mature commercial reactor technologies expected to engage with Great British Nuclear.Funding beyond 2024 would be a matter for UKRI and my colleagues in their sponsor department, and would need be considered in the context of future priorities and budget allocations in the next spending review.

Radioisotopes

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of developing a nuclear material test reactor in the UK on the domestic supply of medical isotopes.

Liz Saville Roberts: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had recent discussions with the Welsh government on proposals for a national medical isotope centre in Trawsfynydd.

Andrew Bowie: The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero recognises the importance of maintaining future access to medical radionuclides for UK patients.No specific assessment has been made on the potential impact of developing a nuclear material test reactor in the UK on the domestic supply of medical isotopes. The Department is, however, delivering the up to £6 million Medical Radionuclide Innovation Programme which aims to identify technology and policy options that could secure access to radionuclides for nuclear medicine services. The programme will consider the development of a domestic research reactor as a potential option.Officials from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department of Health and Social Care continue to meet regularly with their counterparts in the Devolved Governments to discuss medical radionuclide supply, most recently on the 9 March 2023.The Department will continue to work with Welsh Government as their proposal for a medical isotope centre in North Wales progresses.

Energy Company Obligation

Dr Alan Whitehead: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment his Department has made on the progress of the ECO4 rollout.

Graham Stuart: The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme has been one of the Government’s key domestic energy efficiency policies, improving 2.4 million homes since it began in 2013. Since it commenced, ECO4 has seen the delivery of an estimated 43,600 measures as per the most recent published Household Energy Efficiency Statistics, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/household-energy-efficiency-statistics-headline-release-february-2023.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to amend the Energy Bill to update to the Energy Performance Certificate system and Energy Smart Appliance clauses which incorporate bidirectional charging capabilities as part of the Government's plans to safeguard a sustainable energy eco-system.

Andrew Bowie: The Energy Bill will provide powers for setting technical standards for Energy Smart Appliances (ESAs), including EV chargepoints, and for future reform of the Energy Performance of Buildings (EPB) Regulations. The Government intends to consult on possible changes to EPB regulations and on draft ESA regulations and will work with industry to deliver the necessary protections for the energy system and consumers. However, there are no immediate plans to update the Energy Performance Certificate system for the emerging bidirectional technology and market. There are also no plans to amend the Energy Bill.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to reduce the time limitations for derogations under the Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of reducing the time limitations under the Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 on electric vehicle (a) chargepoint manufacturers and (b) drivers’ home energy supplies.

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the cybersecurity provisions of the EV (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 are equally enforced on all EV charging manufacturers that operate in the UK market to protect consumers and compliant British businesses.

Graham Stuart: The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) enforces the Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021. The legislation includes investigatory and civil sanctions powers, and requires enforcement decisions to be taken on a case-by-case basis. OPSS uses its powers to accept time-limited enforcement undertakings, including in relation to the cybersecurity provisions, as a proportionate measure to bring chargepoint sellers into compliance where appropriate and as prescribed under the regulations. Government continues to monitor the domestic and workplace chargepoint market to ensure that consumer protections and a thriving market are in place to help maximise the uptake of smart charging.

Electricity Generation: Business

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero about the potential for businesses to feed into the energy grid through the installation of micro-renewable energy generation systems.

Graham Stuart: My Rt Hon. Friend the Secretary of State has regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a number of issues. Business can already export low-carbon electricity back to the grid. Additionally, the Smart Export Guarantee, launched in January 2020, enables small-scale generators to receive payments from electricity suppliers for electricity which they export back to the grid, providing certain criteria are met.

Electricity Generation: Business

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he has made an assessment of the potential merits of encouraging businesses to generate renewable energy and provide surplus to the energy grid.

Graham Stuart: The Government is considering onsite generation in the manufacturing sector as part of the Net Zero Review and will publish its response in due course. Eligible businesses are already able to receive payment for exported renewable electricity through the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG).

Energy: Businesses

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he plans to provide further support to businesses towards installation of energy saving measures.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps he is taking to encourage businesses to retrofit their premises to reduce energy use.

Graham Stuart: The Government is taking significant steps to encourage businesses to reduce their energy demand. Minimum energy efficiency standards are in place for the non-domestic rented sector, currently EPC E, and the Government has consulted on strengthening this. Furthermore, under the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme, qualifying businesses must undertake energy audits and are encouraged to make energy efficiency improvements. Existing incentives include an exemption on business rates for green technology, providing small business grants under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, offering industry £289m for energy efficiency and low carbon technologies, and providing tax discounts via the Climate Change Agreements scheme. The Government has also launched a new Energy Efficiency Taskforce to help achieve its target to reduce our energy consumption from buildings and industry by 15% by 2030.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Minimum Wage

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 February 2023 to Question 150518 on the Minimum Wage, what the total value of the contracts with the firms named in the list amount to.

Alex Chalk: The total value of the contracts with the firms named in the previous response is £685 million. Firms found to have been in breach have been required to repay sums owed and settle fines totalling an additional £2 million.

Armed Forces: Scotland

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of military personnel are based in Scotland.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The number of Military personnel based in Scotland as at 1 January 2023 is 15,480. This represents 8.7 per cent of military personnel. The figures are rounded to the nearest ten and based on the stationed location of Service personnel and not their location of residence because where personnel work is not necessarily where they live.

Veterans: Compensation

Mary Kelly Foy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral question asked by the hon. Member for the City of Durham on 30 January 2023, Official Report, column 17, when he will meet the hon. Member to discuss her constituent's case.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I am aware of the Secretary of State for Defence's response to the hon. Member’s oral question. Our office will be in contact shortly to arrange a suitable time to meet.

NATO Response Force

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many troops the UK contributed to the NATO Response Force in each year since 2010.

James Heappey: The Ministry of Defence is only required to keep non-operational records for five-years. For the previous five-years, the UK troop contribution to the NATO Response Force (NRF) was as follows: 2018 - 1,993 troops; 2019 - 934 troops; 2020 - 934 troops; 2021 - 1416 troops; 2022 - 495 troops and in 2023 - 4,719 troops. The troop levels fluctuate as Allies' commitments to the NRF are based on annual rotational system. Each year the framework nation changes as does the composition of Allied forces.

Russia: Ukraine

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the threat posed by Russian (a) troops and (b) equipment in Belarus to Ukrainian security.

James Heappey: The armed forces of Belarus provide in-country training to Russian combat formations before they deploy in Ukraine. The Russian ground and air assets currently based in Belarus are unlikely to constitute a major additional, direct threat to Ukraine. It is unlikely Russia is preparing to open a new ground assault axis into Ukraine from Belarus.

Russia: Ukraine

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the number of Russian (a) main battle tanks, (b) armoured fighting vehicles, (c) fixed wing aircrafts, (d) helicopters, (e) unmanned aerial vehicles, (f) ships, (g) artillery systems, (h) multiple-launch rocket systems and (i) other capabilities destroyed in Ukraine since 24 February 2022.

James Heappey: Based on credible open-source evidence, Russia has likely lost significant numbers of land, air, and maritime-based weapon platforms, notable amongst these include:· 1,900 main battle tanks· 3,300 other armoured combat vehicles (including infantry fighting vehicles)· 73 crewed, fixed wing aircraft· Several hundred uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) of all types· 78 helicopters· 550 tube artillery systems· 190 rocket artillery systems· Eight naval vessels (including one major surface combatant)

Russia: Ukraine

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate his Department has made of the number of Russian Armed Forces personnel in Ukraine (a) killed in action, (b) wounded and (c) deserted from their posts since 24 February 2022.

James Heappey: Russia has likely suffered between 175,000 and 200,000 casualties since the start of its full invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Of these, it is likely 40,000 to 60,000 have been killed. We do not have an estimate for the number of deserters.

Ukraine: Ammunition

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Charm-3 ammunition propellant charges supplied to Ukraine passed their expiry date; and what assurances his Department has provided to Ukraine that they will function as intended.

James Heappey: All munitions we send to Ukraine, including tank rounds, are effective and safe for transport and use. We do not comment on specific batches of munitions.

Iraq and Syria: Military Intervention

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an estimate of the number of civilian casualties from British airstrikes against ISIS as part of the US-led Coalition in Iraq and Syria since 2014.

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will conduct an investigation into potential civilian harm in Northern Syria resulting from the 20 December 2016 RAF drone strike in Al-Bab

Stewart Malcolm McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will conduct an investigation into potential civilian harm in Mosul resulting from British strikes in support of the US-led coalition from 2016-2017

James Heappey: The UK has robust procedures to ensure that all military operations, including airstrikes, are conducted in full compliance with International Humanitarian Law. Every care is taken during UK military operations to minimise the potential for civilian casualties. To that end, we conduct a rigorous assessment before and after striking a target and will investigate any credible reports that UK actions may have caused civilian casualties.Over the course of Operation SHADER, the UK's contribution to the international coalition to counter Daesh, we have previously identified one civilian casualty that occurred during an UK airstrike on Daesh fighters in eastern Syria on 26 March 2018.  This incident was subject to a Written Ministerial Statement on 2 May 2018 (HCWS665). RAF aircraft did not conduct an attack near Al Bab in Syria on 20 December 2016. Despite our best efforts to identify whether there have been civilian casualties, no evidence we have suggests these occurred as a result of strikes carried out by the RAF in Mosul in 2016-17.However, we accept the possibility that there could be instances of civilian casualties about which we are unaware, despite our best efforts to identify. We will always re-examine any new information or evidence relating to a potential civilian casualty incident submitted to us, where it is possible that UK forces may have been involved.Parliament will always be informed of any instance where we assess a UK airstrike is responsible for a civilian casualty incident, whether incurred during a new strike, or as a result of re-examining historic strikes using new information. National security considerations might prevent full disclosure of detail where this risks jeopardising operational security considerations.

Crime Prevention: Conferences

Sir Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in the context of the Written Ministerial Statement made on 24 November 2022 by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster entitled Security Update on Surveillance Equipment, HCWS386, what assessment he has made of the potential security implications of the decision by the Defence and Security Accelerator to exhibit at the Safer Streets: Protect and Deter 2023 conference which will be partly funded by Hikvision, a company owned by the Chinese state.

Alex Chalk: Any events the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) attends or exhibits at are carefully planned for and assessed in order to mitigate security risks.For this particular event, contact has been directly with the organisers of the event (the CCTV User Group) and limited solely to attendance at the event and administration for the stand. DASA has not shared any official documents or technology contacts with the organisers. DASA has robust plans in place to ensure that, at events such as these, no material or information is made available that is not already in the public domain.

Armed Forces: Housing and Pay

Tom Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much and what proportion of the £11 billion increase in his Department's budget he plans to allocate to Armed Forces pay and housing.

Alex Chalk: The Department is currently working through the outcome of the Spring Budget on 15 March and it is too early to provide an indication of how the funding for future years will be allocated.

Ukraine: Landmines

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the proportion of recently liberated Ukrainian territory that is contaminated with landmines.

James Heappey: Landmine contamination of contested territory in Ukraine is likely to be vast. As Russian forces are pushed back, the situation can only worsen. In its actions to delay and attrit Ukrainian attempts to hold the regained ground, it is highly likely Russia will sow it with landmines, both anti-vehicle and anti-personnel.

Russia: Ukraine

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the daily casualties being taken by the Russian armed forces in Bakhmut.

James Heappey: It is highly likely that a significant proportion of the several hundred daily casualties that Ukraine is inflicting on Russian forces occur in the Bakhmut sector. There have likely been 20,000-30,000 total Russian casualties in this sector over the last nine months.

Artillery: Finance

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much and what proportion of his Department's Mobile Fires Platform has been allocated funding as of 17 March.

Alex Chalk: To date £6.2 million has been approved for the Mobile Fires Platform (MFP) project. As the project is still in the Concept Phase, it would be inappropriate to confirm the full funding provision currently allocated to MFP.

Wainscott Barracks

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Service Family Accommodation and (b) Single Living Accommodation units there are at Wainscott Barracks; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Service Family Accommodation and (b) Single Living Accommodation units there are at Keogh Barracks; and how many personnel are based at that site.

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family and (b) single living accommodation units there are at Marchwood Military Port; and how many personnel are based at that site.

Alex Chalk: I will write to the right hon and hon. Members and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Poland: Typhoon Aircraft

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department had discussions with the Polish Government on the potential transfer of RAF Tranche 1 Typhoons to the Polish Air Force.

James Heappey: The UK welcomes Poland's announcement that it will provide MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine and we are looking at how best we can support them in this. However, there have been no discussions with the Polish Government on the transfer of RAF Tranche 1 Typhoons to Poland.

NATO Response Force

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many troops he plans for the UK to contribute to the NATO Response Force in each of the next five years.

James Heappey: The UK has committed a brigade to the NATO Response Force until 30 June 2024 after which NATO will transition to NATO Force Model Allied Reaction Force, taking effect from 1 July 2024. NATO is yet to formally invite offers for commitments to the NFM Allied Reaction Force beyond 2024; as such we are unable to offer figures beyond this timescale.

Afghanistan: Refugees

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many RAF flights to evacuate principals eligible for resettlement under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and their families have left Pakistan in each month since 15 August 2021.

James Heappey: Since the end of Op PITTING, a total of 25 RAF Voyager flights have been organised by the Ministry of Defence to evacuate ARAP eligible individuals and their family members from Pakistan. Five civilian charter flights have also been used to relocate Afghans from Islamabad to the UK over this period, and individuals have also been relocated using commercial flights. A month-by-month breakdown of RAF Voyager flights dating back to August 2021 is captured in the table below:  MonthTotal flights departed Pakistan organised by MODAug 210Sep-210Oct-213Nov-213Dec-211Jan-222Feb-222Mar-221Apr-222May-222Jun-221Jul-222Aug-221Sep-221Oct-222Nov-222

Defence: Technology

David Warburton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to develop innovative defence technology.

Alex Chalk: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 14 March 2023 to Question 159090 to the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Dr Kieran Mullan).Defence  Technology (docx, 22.6KB)

RAF Lossiemouth

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Service Family Accommodation and (b) Single Living Accommodation units there are at RAF Lossiemouth; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation units there are at Kirknewton airfield; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation units there are at RAF Boulmer; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation units there are at RAF Spadeadam; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation units there are at RAF Woodvale; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation units there are at RAF Fylingdales; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation units there are at RAF Leeming; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation units there are at RAF Menwith Hill; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation units there are at RAF Topcliffe; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation units there are at RAF Henlow; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation units there are at RAF Honington; and how many personnel are based at that site.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation units there are at RAF Marham; and how many personnel are based at that site.

Alex Chalk: I will write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Veterans: Identity Cards

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 February to Question 138281 on Veterans: Identity Cards, when he plans to write to the Rt hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 23 February 2023. I enclose a copy of my letter.Veterans ID cards distribution (pdf, 39.3KB)Veterans ID cards distribution (xlsx, 34.9KB)

Ministry of Defence: Billing

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the proportion of invoices his Department paid to small and medium-sized enterprises within five days in (a) the 2021-2022 financial year and (b) each of the last 12 months.

Alex Chalk: The proportion of payments made by the Ministry of Defence within five working days can be found in the table below.  MOD (including SDA, DE&S and DNO)Part (a)Financial year 2021-202292%Part (b)Apr-2292%May-2293%Jun-2290%Jul-2293%Aug-2294%Sep-2293%Oct-2295%Nov-2283%Dec-2294%Jan-2395%Feb-2393%Mar-23TBC  The number of small and medium-sized enterprises within these figures is not centrally held and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Department for Transport

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Government's response to the zero-emission vehicle mandate consultation will be published.

Jesse Norman: Responses to the technical consultation are being analysed and the Government will publish its response, and a full regulatory proposal and cost benefit analysis, in due course.

Motorways: Litter

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of motorway litter on the number of Road Traffic Accidents in the last (a) three, (b) six and (c) 12 months.

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Department monitors links between road traffic accidents and the levels of litter and debris on motorways.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department produces statistics on road collisions based on data reported by the police using the STATS19 system. While STATS19 includes some information on the factors which contribute to collisions, this is not sufficiently detailed to allow the link between litter and collisions to be monitored.

Motorways: Litter

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has he made of the adequacy of budgets for clearing motorway litter in the last (a) three, (b) six and (c) 12 months.

Mr Richard Holden: As part of the second Road Investment Strategy (RIS2) covering 2020 to 2025, Government provides funding to National Highways for the enhancement, maintenance, renewals and operations of the Strategic Road Network. The RIS sets a series of outputs and performance targets, including on litter. The allocation of budgets to meet these deliverables and targets is a matter for National Highways.

Driving Tests: Scotland

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many practical driving tests were carried out in Arbroath between 1 March 2022 and 1 March 2023; and what proportion of the examiners recruited in 2022 have commenced their posts in (a) Scotland, and (b) Angus.

Mr Richard Holden: There are four driving test centres (DTC) that service the Angus region. The table below shows the number of people booked to take their test at (a) each of the four DTCs that service the Angus region (b) Scotland, and (c) Great Britain. (a) Angus region Number of forward bookingsNumber of slots available Arbroath2343 Dundee1,320685 Forfar18621 Montrose22314(b) Scotland.44,0807,143(c) Great Britain.525,07051,363 Between 1 March 2022 and 1 March 2023, there were 407 car practical driving tests carried out at Arbroath DTC.9% of driving examiners recruited in Great Britain in 2022 have commenced their posts in Scotland. This is in direct response to Scotland having 8.4% of the total number of forward bookings in Great Britain.Driving examiners based at Dundee DTC service the four DTCs in the Angus region. 1% of driving examiners recruited in Great Britain in 2022 have commenced their posts at Dundee. This is in direct response to the Angus region having 0.4% of the total number of forward bookings in Great Britain.

Avanti West Coast: Standards

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of final trains of the day have been cancelled by Avanti West Coast in each month since September 2022.

Huw Merriman: The Department does not routinely hold data related to service alterations at specific times of the day. Passengers are protected by the National Conditions of Carriage and where the last train of the day is cancelled operators must provide alternative transport to their destination or accommodation where they reasonably can. Across the day Avanti has reduced self-caused cancellations to 4.2 per cent in early March, but still needs to do more to win back passengers with a reliable and dependable service.

First Group: Bus Services and Railways

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make it his policy to undertake a review of the adequacy of FirstGroup (a) rail and (b) bus services.

Huw Merriman: For rail operators, the tender process for contracts to run passenger services includes an assessment of their technical and managerial competence through which they have to demonstrate their fitness to operate such services. Once awarded, the Department holds the operators to account for the level of service that they provide customers, as well as a range of other performance measures. For bus operators, the majority of services outside London are run on a commercial basis. The Office of the Traffic Commissioner has the power to take regulatory action against bus operators who do not operate services in accordance with the registered particulars.

Railways: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to take steps to shorten the rail journey time between York and Derby.

Huw Merriman: From May 2023 CrossCountry is planning to reintroduce a number of through services on its Newcastle to Reading route via Doncaster, Derby and Birmingham. These will be in addition to the hourly trains that link York with Derby and Plymouth via Leeds. Travelling from York to Derby on the CrossCountry route via Doncaster would typically be about 20 minutes quicker than the route via Leeds. It will be for CrossCountry, working with the industry to develop robust and reliable future timetables offering attractive journey times based on an appropriate business case.

Railways: York

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to take steps to ensure that the York Central development site continues to play a significant role in the rail sector.

Huw Merriman: Network Rail is preparing plans to deliver a new western entrance to York Station to provide improved access to and from the York Central development site. The National Railway Museum will, of course, remain an important part of the site.

Driving Tests: Waiting Lists

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of people in (a) Angus, (b) Scotland, and (c) the UK who are awaiting a practical driving test; and how many are awaiting such tests at the Arbroath remote testing centre.

Mr Richard Holden: There are four driving test centres (DTC) that service the Angus region. The table below shows the number of people booked to take their test at (a) each of the four DTCs that service the Angus region (b) Scotland, and (c) Great Britain. (a) Angus region Number of forward bookingsNumber of slots available Arbroath2343 Dundee1,320685 Forfar18621 Montrose22314(b) Scotland.44,0807,143(c) Great Britain.525,07051,363There are four driving test centres (DTC) that service the Angus region. The table below shows the number of people booked to take their test at (a) each of the four DTCs that service the Angus region (b) Scotland, and (c) Great Britain.

Motorways: Litter

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of trends in the level of motorway litter in the last (a) three, (b) six and (c) 12 months.

Mr Richard Holden: The second Road Investment Strategy (2020-25) includes a litter performance indicator, in line with the Code of practice on litter and refuse published by Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). National Highways is committed to annually reporting against this performance indicator. In 2021/22 National Highways reported that 60.8% of relevant parts of the Strategic Road Network had no litter, refuse or detritus, or was predominately free of litter, refuse or detritus apart from some small items. The 2022/23 report will be made available to the Department, the Office of Rail and Road, and published in annual reports to Parliament, this summer.

Bus Services: Rural Areas

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will increase funding for bus services in rural areas.

Mr Richard Holden: The 2021 National Bus Strategy makes clear that the Government takes the needs of rural transport users just as seriously as the needs of those in urban areas. The Department regularly engages with rural local authorities, including on the Rural Mobility Fund, and will involve them in the planned reforms to the Bus Service Operator Grant (BSOG). The Government provides around £250 million every year through the BSOG to help bus operators keep fares down and maintain a larger network than would otherwise be possible, as well as to help local authorities subsidise socially necessary bus services. The Department has also sought to help increase patronage on buses, including in rural areas, by providing up to £135 million to help operators cap single fares at £2 on over 4,700 routes in England outside London. The cap launched on 1 January and is set to run until 30 June 2023. We are also providing up to £80 million in additional funding to extend the Bus Recovery Grant until 30 June which takes total funding to over £2 billion since March 2020 to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on the bus sector and support local bus services, including those in rural areas. The Department is actively working on plans for June onwards and will make further announcements on this in due course. The needs of rural authorities have been given particular consideration as part of this ongoing work.

Aviation: Fuels

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Philip New independent review on sustainable aviation fuel will be published.

Jesse Norman: In October 2022, the Department commissioned Philip New to lead an independent evaluation into ‘Developing a UK Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) industry’, with the aim of stress testing its evidence base on the barriers to investment in UK SAF production and consider options for addressing those barriers. The Department will publish the report shortly.

Parking: Pedestrian Areas

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the results from the managing pavement parking consultation; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of that consultation on North Devon constituency.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department consulted on measures to address inconsiderate pavement parking in 2020 and received over 15,000 responses. We have been considering all views expressed, including from those with vision impairments, and the options for managing pavement parking. This is a complex issue and we want to ensure that local authorities have appropriate and effective tools at their disposal. We will publish the formal consultation response and announce next steps as soon as possible. An impact assessment will be published alongside the consultation response.

Road Traffic Control

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 March 2023 to Question 158934 and the Answer of 20 March 2023 to Question 163764 on Road Traffic Control, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of redundancy systems for National Highways’ CHARM system in the context of the outage on 22 February 2023.

Mr Richard Holden: On rare occasions, the nature of a failure may prevent the operation of CHARM for longer periods of time and when this happens National Highways has well-rehearsed procedures in place to help ensure the safety of road users, such as increased patrols and CCTV monitoring. Safety remains our priority and National Highways investigates every outage to ensure that steps are taken to prevent future occurrences.

Bus Services

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the effectiveness of the Bus Back Better strategy.

Mr Richard Holden: The National Bus Strategy contains a significant number of commitments to improve bus services, including government investment of more than £1 billion for Bus Service Improvement Plans (BSIPs). With that funding recently confirmed, and payments now being made to Local Transport Authorities, the Department for Transport has established a monitoring and evaluation programme to build the evidence base on improving services and increasing patronage. This includes the monitoring and evaluation of the impact and value for money of initiatives funded through the BSIP programme; and the impact of the National Bus Strategy as a whole. Interim findings from the evaluation will be published in due course.

Public Transport

Dr Luke Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the Demand Responsive Transport schemes; and whether his Department is taking steps to support the expansion of Demand Responsive Transport scheme trials such as Fox Connect and its extension to Bosworth.

Mr Richard Holden: Our £20m Rural Mobility Fund is supporting 17 innovative, demand-led minibus trials in rural and suburban areas. A monitoring and evaluation process is in place. We expect to publish interim findings in the first half of 2023, further findings in late 2023/early 2024, and the final findings in 2025 in the form of written reports. However, the exact timings and dissemination approach will be determined closer to the time. There are no current plans for further bespoke DRT funding from the Department for Transport. Expansion of the ‘Fox Connect’ pilot scheme to include Bosworth would be a matter for Leicestershire County Council.

Transport: Hydrogen

Chris Law: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is planning to produce a hydrogen transport strategy.

Jesse Norman: The British Energy Security Strategy, UK Hydrogen Strategy and Transport Decarbonisation Plan set out hydrogen’s role in the UK’s transition to a net zero economy. In transport, hydrogen has an important potential role to play in decarbonising heavier applications such as aviation, shipping,some buses and HGVs.

Electric Vehicles: Leasing

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a Government-backed leasing scheme to widen access to electric vehicles among lower-income households.

Jesse Norman: The Government is committed to ensuring that everybody can make the transition to zero emission vehicles. The Plug in Car Grant was in place for over a decade and successfully supported early market growth of the electric car market. Over 16% of new cars sold last year were fully electric. Government incentives are targeted to where they will deliver the most impact and deliver the greatest value for money to the taxpayer. This currently includes supporting the rollout of charging infrastructure and the uptake of vehicles that are harder to decarbonise such as vans, trucks and wheelchair accessible vehicles. The price of electric vehicles is continuing to fall and some on the used market are now lower than their petrol and diesel equivalents. Electric vehicle drivers also benefit from significant savings on the cost of fuel and lower maintenance costs. On a pence per mile basis, charging a medium-sized electric car at home equates to around half the cost of refuelling an equivalent petrol vehicle. The Government continues to keep all policies under review to ensure the transition to zero emission vehicles takes place in an equitable and fair manner.

Motorways: Accidents

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how may traffic officer vehicles have been involved in an accident in a live lane on smart motorways in the last 12 months.

Mr Richard Holden: National Highways does not hold this data in the format requested.

Driverless Vehicles: Delivery Services

Mr Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress his Department has made on developing regulation to support the expanded use of low speed, low weight, autonomous last-mile delivery.

Jesse Norman: Some emerging technologies, such as low speed, low weight, last-mile delivery vehicles with automated technology, have no specific provision for them under existing legislation. Any development of regulation for these technologies would need to be balanced with the need to maintain safety and accessibility for other road users. The Government is considering research to inform possible ways forward in this area.

Motor Vehicles: Sales

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to take further steps with Cabinet colleagues to encourage road users to transition away from petrol and diesel vehicles, in the context of Net Zero targets.

Jesse Norman: The Government recognises that a whole package of measures is needed to support the switch to zero emission driving.HM Treasury has ensured that EVs continue to benefit from a favourable tax regime. There are now over a million plug-in vehicles on UK roads, the majority of which are exempt or pay minimal VED. From 2025, electric vehicles will still have preferential first year rates of VED in comparison to the most polluting vehicles. There are also preferential rates of company car tax for EVs out to April 2028. These measures will continue to support the uptake of electric vehicles.Ministers across government departments continue to collaborate on the implementation of the Net Zero Strategy. In the Strategy, the Government announced that it will introduce a zero emission vehicle mandate, setting targets for a percentage of manufacturers' new car and van sales to be zero emission each year from 2024. The Government will shortly publish more details on the design of the ZEV mandate, including uptake trajectories, and accompanying CO2 emissions regulation.

Motor Vehicles: Carbon Emissions and Safety

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make a comparative between trends in the level of SUV use and levels of (a) road safety and (b) pollution.

Mr Richard Holden: Trends in the level of SUV use are not held by the Department for Transport. The definition of SUV and the use of these vehicles is imprecise.

Local Government: Fines

Mr Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the maximum penalty charge available to local authorities outside London.

Mr Richard Holden: The issue of penalties to support activities such as parking enforcement is complex and identifying the right balance of deterrent and fairness is not straightforward. Changing the penalty levels would need to be evidence-led, requiring consultation and amendments to secondary legislation. To date, evidence around the effectiveness of current penalty levels has been largely anecdotal. The Department is aware that sector representatives are undertaking research into this issue in relation to parking penalties, and we look forward to reviewing the findings in due course. We have no current plans to raise penalty charge levels.

A1 (M): Repairs and Maintenance

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the A1M was last inspected for potholes and surface defects between junctions 8 and 10; and when that stretch of motorway is next scheduled for surface maintenance.

Mr Richard Holden: Safety inspections of the A1(M) between junctions 8 and 10 are carried out by National Highways on a weekly basis. Its last inspection was carried out on 21 March 2023 with the next due to take place on 28 March 2023.National Highways plan to conduct minor surface repairs along this section of the A1(M) before the end of April.

Transport: Innovation

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an estimate of the timescale needed for implementation of recommendation 4 of Sir Patrick Vallance’s Pro-innovation Regulation of Technologies Review: Digital Technologies.

Jesse Norman: The Government Response to Sir Patrick Vallance’s Report outlined that it is committed to bringing forward and implementing legislation on the future of transport when parliamentary time allows.The Government has set out in its Connected & Automated Mobility 2025 paper that it plans to put in place a legal framework enabling the deployment and operation of self-driving vehicles by 2025.

Department for Transport: Procurement

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many suppliers his Department has excluded from procurement on the grounds of (a) fraud, (b) corruption and (c) other grounds under the Public Contract Regulations 2015 from 2015 to 2022.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport does not collect this data as a matter of course or catalogue it in a central database.

Abellio Greater Anglia: Timetables

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department provided Greater Anglia with a formal written derogation to not consult on that company's May 2023 train timetable changes.

Huw Merriman: No derogation was granted to Greater Anglia in relation to the May 2023 train timetable. Operators continue to respond to changing passenger demand levels and travel patterns and it is important they have the flexibility to do so.

Cycling and Walking: Finance

Selaine Saxby: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what funding his Department plans to provide to active travel in (a) 2023-2024 and (b) 2024-2025 in (i) dedicated and (ii) general spending.

Jesse Norman: The Government expects to invest a total of around £3 billion in active travel from 2020 to 2025. This includes at least £100 million of dedicated capital funding over the two-year period 2023/24 to 2024/25 for active travel infrastructure. In addition to this, the Department will confirm the revenue funding for active travel for 2023/24 and 2024/25 shortly. As outlined in the second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS2) there are a wide range of cross-Government funding streams supporting the delivery of active travel infrastructure. These funds include the Levelling Up Fund, Towns Fund, City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements and National Highways Designated Funds.

Cycling and Walking: Finance

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the written statement of 9 March 2023 entitled Transport Update, HCWS625, whether the funding available for the second statutory cycling and walking investment strategy has been varied.

Jesse Norman: The second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS2), published in July 2022, included an estimate of the total financial resources across government that would be invested in active travel over the 4-year period between April 2021 and March 2025. This estimate will be updated in the next Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy and associated report to Parliament to take account of developments across various funding streams, including the change to the dedicated capital funding budgets for active travel for 2023/24 and 2024/25 announced on 9 March 2023.

Travel: Disability

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that people with disabilities are able to access modes of active travel which aid (a) mobility and (b) independence.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to help promote wheeling for people with disabilities.

Jesse Norman: The second Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy sets out both a vision and specific objectives to increase levels of walking, wheeling and cycling. The Government is providing around £3 billion of funding for active travel over the current Parliament, as well as guidance for local transport authorities to support the creation of accessible infrastructure. The guidance and funding prioritise road safety and personal safety concerns, particularly for those with protected characteristics, including people with disabilities.

Department for Transport: Expenditure

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the data on his Department's spending over £25,000 in the months since June 2022.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport published the July and August 2022 transactional data over £25,000 on 23 February 2023 and the data from September to December 2022 will be published shortly. Data for the remainder months will be published in line with the Cabinet Office timetable.

Department for Transport: Electronic Purchasing Card Solution

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish data on his Department's spending over £500 with an electronic purchasing card solution for the months since September 2022.

Jesse Norman: The Department for Transport aims to publish the transactional data over £500 with an electronic purchasing card solution for October and November 2022 imminently. The Department aims to publish the December 2022 and January 2023 data by the end of April 2023.

Department for Transport: Billing

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the proportion of invoices his Department paid to small and medium-sized enterprises within five days in (a) the 2021-2022 financial year and (b) each of the last 12 months.

Jesse Norman: The Department’s financial systems do not record if a supplier is an SME or not.

Northern Ireland Office

Bombings: Omagh

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much funding will be provided for the independent statutory inquiry into the preventability of the Omagh bombing in August 1998.

Chris Heaton-Harris: On 2 February 2023, an independent statutory inquiry into the Omagh bombing is being established under the Inquiries Act 2005. Consideration of the Terms of Reference and other details, including funding arrangements, are ongoing and will be a matter for discussion with the Chair, when appointed. More information will be set out in due course.

Gender Based Violence: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions he has had with the Northern Ireland Department of Justice on steps to (a) reduce violence against women and girls and (b) encourage women and girls to report incidences of violence.

Mr Steve Baker: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland recently visited Women’s Aid Federation NI and the Foyle Family Justice Centre in Derry-Londonderry in support of their crucial work. It is disappointing that Northern Ireland remains the only region of the UK without a dedicated strategy to tackle violence against women and girls. The UK Government supports ongoing work by Northern Ireland departments to develop strategies tackling violence against women and girls, and domestic and sexual abuse. It is vital that the Northern Ireland Executive is restored to implement these strategies.

Women and Equalities

Disability: Employment

Cat Smith: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will make it her policy to amend the Equality Act 2010 to require employers to make reasonable adjustments for people with a disability visiting a premises for work purposes.

Stuart Andrew: There are two types of reasonable adjustment duty under the Equality Act 2010 (the Act) - the first is the reasonable adjustment duty on employers and the second is the ‘anticipatory’ duty on service providers (that is businesses that provide services to the public or which exercise public functions), which requires such providers to consider reasonable adjustments even before an individual disabled person accesses their services.The Act requires employers to make reasonable adjustments in relation to the disabled employee’s job. These adjustments ensure that disabled employees are not placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to their non-disabled colleagues. The failure of an employer to make reasonable adjustments for a disabled employee or job seeker, or discounting a job application simply because the applicant is disabled could amount to direct disability discrimination under the Act.However, the 2010 Act also recognises the need to strike a balance between the needs of disabled employees and the circumstances of their employers. What is ‘reasonable’ will therefore vary from one employer to another because of factors such as the practicality of making the adjustment, the cost of the adjustment to the employer and the resources available to different employers. There are no plans to modify these provisions.

Scotland Office

United Kingdom

Dave Doogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, if he will make an assessment of the (a) strategic and (b) economic contribution made by Scotland to the UK.

Mr Alister Jack: My assessment, along with that of the majority of people in Scotland, is that Scotland’s strategic and economic future is best served as part of the UK. Scotland is a key part of the Union and both contributes to and benefits from being part of the UK - including through higher spending per head, record funding via the Barnett formula, and through the pooling and sharing of risks. Strategically, military bases and armed forces personnel based in Scotland play a crucial role in defending the whole of the UK and contribute to NATO; Scottish renewable electricity generation is a critical part of the UK’s plan for achieving net zero; and Scotland’s internationally recognised brand is important for delivering the UK’s ambitious global export strategy. On economic contribution, the rest of the UK remains Scotland’s biggest trading partner with over 60 percent of all sales going to the rest of the UK and more than £70 billion of goods and services sold to Scotland from other parts of the UK.

Attorney General

Illegal Migration Bill

Angela Crawley: To ask the Attorney General, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of the Illegal Migration Bill with (a) the 1951 Refugee Convention, (b) the European Convention on Human Rights and (c) the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

Michael Tomlinson: The Law Officers’ Convention prevents me from disclosing outside Government whether I have been asked to provide advice or the contents of any such advice. This is a longstanding and well-known principle of Cabinet collective agreement.

Illegal Migration Bill

Angela Crawley: To ask the Attorney General, what assessment she has made of the compatibility of clauses 21 to 28 of the Illegal Migration Bill with Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Michael Tomlinson: The Law Officers’ Convention prevents me from disclosing outside Government whether I have been asked to provide advice or the contents of any such advice. This is a longstanding and well-known principle of Cabinet collective agreement.

Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill

Angela Crawley: To ask the Attorney General, what assessment she has made of the (a) scope of delegated powers granted to Ministers under the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill and (b) potential effect of those powers on the principles of (i) democracy, (ii) the rule of law and (iii) Parliamentary sovereignty.

Michael Tomlinson: The Law Officers’ Convention prevents me from disclosing outside Government whether I have been asked to provide advice or the contents of any such advice. This is a longstanding and well-known principle of Cabinet collective agreement.

Crown Prosecution Service: Finance

Janet Daby: To ask the Attorney General, what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for the Crown Prosecution Service in the next Spending Review.

Michael Tomlinson: In the 2021 Spending Review, the CPS secured a significant funding increase enabling it to respond to growing pressures in the criminal justice system. This settlement saw a significant investment in CPS funding, increasing its budget from £630m a year to £728m by 2024/25. That settlement has been maintained by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.